A close encounter of the only kind

Last week, I met producer Jon Landau. The guy who helped create movies such as Titanic and Avatar that eventually amounted to more money than some hapless countries’ entire economy. We spoke for about 22 minutes. This was the first time I was face-to-face with a Hollywoodian. To my utter delight, he brought along that Oscar he had won 15 years ago for Titanic! Placed on a glass table, the gold statuette acted as if it wasn’t eavesdropping on our conversation. The interview went far better than my low expectations. And I amassed a few things that afternoon.

One, it’s possible to be humble despite being phenomenally successful. Two, it’s possible to be humorous despite being phenomenally successful. Three, we should be humble and humorous even if we aren't phenomenally successful. Four, I shouldn’t have asked Jon to let me hold that relatively heavy Academy Award in my hands. Five, I shouldn’t have said - “This is the closest I’ll ever get to an Oscar!” Six, we two shouldn’t have laughed on my foolish comment.