Murph Writes to the Home Folk (4/27/01)
Well, Old Pal, yesterday I went down to that university and stood for an autograph from that Russell Crowe... Believe me it comes as a surprise to me that I went at all, and I bet it did to you down home, good old pal
I parked the old jalopy and walked on over to the movie set. What a sight it were for this old gal. They had the big trailers, and the trucks, and two white tents with sides on them where fancy dressed ladies and men walked to and fro in the evening light. It were a pretty sight to behold.
I met some nice folk there, who were quite surprised when I told them I had me a web site for the star, Ira Crowe, as I call him. While we were waiting there, a burly man with that walkie talkie and the confident walk came over and took a liking to me, I guess. He told us we would have to wait a bit for Ira to come on the set. We tried to get where Mr. Crowe was at that moment, but all we got was a wink and a grin.
So I"m holding my trusty pen and that flannel picture I did a while ago. You remember the one, old pal? I sent it down to the Gazette last winter. Ira loves his flannie, and I figured he would get a chuckle out of it.
All of a sudden everyone started to look up to the sky, and there flying right over our heads was one of them helicopters. I had to stop my ears with the sound. It flew past, and we was told it were heading to a near airport for landing. He would be coming in one of them SUV things, like the one Banker Melvin has in town.
Well, in 15 minutes, give or take, my friend the guard starts to motion to me to come on over to his side of the road, so's I did, and this big black car comes slow like toward us. It drives past, but all these old eyes could see was a baseball cap in there. The windows were as dark as night, like the rest of the car. I waved real friendly anyway, just in case that were him in there.
We waited some more, and the crowd were growing. Pal, I was the only gray hair there. All of them around me were young things in them tank tops. I think they felt kind of sorry for me, cause they gave me a chance to stay in the front.
There were a rush toward the tapes they had put up. He was coming, and everyone looked to the yard on the left. "I see him, I see him," people were shouting, but all I could see were backs and cameras going off.
Then he comes in view not a few feet away. Old pal, my first thought was he looked so awful tired, though he were trying to grin that grin every once in awhile, but he looked fetching in his cap from the movie with an ABM on it, and his blue and white jogging outfit.
So he gets to me, and I blurts out - "I'm Murph, from The Prose and The passion web site." That didn"t get a rise, but he were tired, and his eyes were off somewhere else.
He says, "How do you spell that, "M I R P?" And I says kinda low, cause I weren't myself, you see, "No, "M U R P H" So he signs the picture, "To Murph, Love, Russell Crowe."
For five minutes after I was just dumb and couldn't say a word. He went back to do the part, and I went home.
I got my signing but I felt bad on the way home to see him so sad and worn out looking.
Well old pal, I will be down home in a few days and we will have some of the good old times. Regards to all the gang and tell them I am still their pal and not all swelled up over meeting this big star.
Your pal, Murph
Here's Ira's "John Hancock" for you to look at until I come.
