Meeting Sam Heughan

I had planned on writing this right after I met him, but just lost track of time. Two days ago, I  decided it was time to stop procrastinating and get it done. And then yesterday I read this on twitter:

 I have to tell you this just shocked me - how can people be so mean? I had seen some of the posts he referenced,  like the "shippers" (people who want the people they watch on tv shows - ie Sam and Caitriona playing Jamie and Claire in Outlander) to be in love in real life and stalk and follow them to incredible degrees to "prove" it's so even though Caitriona is happily married. They can get quite crazy about it, refusing to believe even the celebs when they say they are just good friends. The ones that are just sure he is a closet homosexual spend hours combing through pictures to prove their point. Their pictures are grainy and their proof is just sad. And of course we can't forget those who harrass whoever he is dating and offer death threats. This man has done nothing to deserve this and to say it comes along with celebrity, well, that's just ridiculous. No one should be treated that way. Can you imagine people following you and lurking in the bushes to try to catch you doing something unseemly or stalking you so much they find your home and try to hack your email and post the info online. Anyway, this is all incredibly sad and says something terrible about people today. Thankfully, most people are respectful of not only our own lives, but those of the celebrities they follow.

That being said. I AM a fan, a big fan of both Outlander and Sam.  So in February I finally ordered tickets to see him "live and in person" at a few events in New York City which is not far from where I live. I actually had tickets to Live With Kelly and Ryan, Good  Morning America and another early morning show. Then I scored a front row seat to seeing him at Happy Sad confused, a live podcast with Josh Horowitz at Symphony Hall, a small theater in NYC. I had a long think about it and knew in my heart I really didn't want to get up at 4 or 5am to go wait in the February cold to get into those early morning shows, so I gave up my tickets so other fans could have them. I felt seeing him one time in an hour long show was perfect, especially since I didn't have to go in so early.

The morning of the show it was snowing here and supposed to be rainy in the city, but I made sure I had a waterproof jacket  and set off. After I checked into my hotel, I went down to the theater to poke about to see if maybe he was there early. This is often the case, but not so for this show. So I found the stage door and figured it couldn't hurt to wait. I know some of you who know me are now shaking your heads, but this is not something new in my life, I have been meeting actors and singers this way since I was about 15. Why? I think because I did a lot of theater and singing myself when I was young, the people like me who love performing interest me.

It was about 4pm when I got there. Not long after, someone else who had been waiting in a car came out to join me. We enjoyed chatting about lots of things and it made time pass more quickly. It was drizzling and around 35 out and as time went on I was definitely cold. It was getting close to the time of the show when a few other ladies came to wait as well. I had literally just said, " I am giving it 5 more minutes and then I am going in," when a black car pulled up, people came out of the stage door and we realized it was Sam in the car. When he stepped out I will admit we looked at each other and said, "Oh my gosh, he's beautiful!" Yeah, I know, just don't even go there! But he was. I also thought, he's so young - younger than my oldest, and I knew it, but it was so much more evident in person. To me, he's just a kid!

He apparently knew the two other fans and called hi to them as he got out. The people from the theater were trying to get him into the theater and as he came walking by, my new friend said , "Sam, this lady has been waiting hours for you," and he stopped and came over to me. I asked if we could have a selfie and he said sure. Then he gave me a hug and started talking to me. I told him how I was grateful for his workout program My Peak Challenge (mypeakchallenge.com) and that it had helped me get up and moving and losing weight. He was genuinely happy to hear it. We said a few other things and then he said "It's so cold out, you need to go inside and get warrm," and then was escorted into the stage doorway. I have to say right now that this lovely lady I met gave up her chance to have a selfie or talk with Sam so I could. She recorded him coming out of the car, took the pix of me with him and even recorded a small part of our conversation. I though that was pretty incredible as she was as big a fan as I am. Just proves there are lots of good people around and we need to remember that. 

The show itself was great - lots of funny moments, laughs at things Josh did and Sam's take on them.  At the end Sam usually takes a selfie with the audience behind him, but this time Josh chimed in and he did the three photos as follows. I am in the lower right side in grey with the camera around my neck. These are pictures from Josh Horowitz. We were told to act...

HAPPY

SAD

CONFUSED

      and as Josh said that, Sam quickly turned the other way, leaving Josh the one who was confused and the audience in stitches!

I am probably a bigger fan now - not only because of the enjoyable evening, and the new season of Outlander, but because I have been watching fan videos of others meeting him and seeing he is the same gentleman each time. It is a rarity for a celebrity to be as accomodating as Sam is. No matter how rushed he is, no matter the guards trying to get him inside or keep fans at arm's length, he still invariably stops for selfies or autographs. I heard one place mention that he was so concerned about the fans waiting in the cold, he asked if they could come inside. The answer was no, but who asks that? And of course when the interview was over, he went out into the cold with just a light jacket (he never wears a winter coat when going to interviews) and made sure he gave as many selfies or autographs as he could. I hope this awful thing that has finally reached the point of no return won't stop Sam from being who he is, a gentleman with a big heart.

Tomorrow I will have more pictures and some videos for  you. See you then!