...Where No Spring Roll Has Gone Before.

When one meets a hero from one's earliest childhood, one hopes to be cool.
To say something witty. To be calm, but admiring. And to leave the hero wanting more.

I was standing in ninety degree blazing sun, waiting for the start of a wedding delayed by power outage. When Brannon Braga walked up and extended his hand to me with the most casual and genuinely nice introduction... I had just stuck a whole (slight exaggeration) spring roll in my mouth.

"Hi, I'm Brannon." I take his extended hand, while balancing the plate of hors d'oeuvres in my opposite hand.

"[Stunned, awkward, silent, frantic chewing. Followed by resignation to not completing the chew,]
Ahmooh...[dry swallow]...Morris DuBose. I'm a big fan of your work" I mumble, as I desperately try to swallow.

"Wow. Thanks," was the response.
He said it in the way I imagine one would respond the first or second time a stranger was complimentary of one's work. Not someone who has more than 100 Star TrekTM writing credits, and three films, including Mission: Impossible 2. Yet there he was, mentioning his new show, Terra Nova. Not selling it to me, just chatting about it, like someone genuinely excited about the newness of the project, and looking completely normal. Well, as normal as a tuxedo adorned person can look.

I finally swallow, when he suddenly, apologizes for catching me with my mouth full. Promised we'd talk later. Then excused himself to rejoin the wedding party in their sequestered state.

I'm still not sure how I feel about this hero meeting. For his part, the hero was as engaging and friendly as I could have hoped for any meeting. He even made good his promise to talk later. I on the other hand still have spring roll in my teeth.