My Brush With Fame: Was that Alec Baldwin?

Our semi-annual sightseeing visits to Manhattan are usually dictated by pop culture.  The Museum of Natural History speaks for itself.  The trip to the Empire State Building...King Kong, of course but Sleepless in Seattle inspires our lap around the top in search of romantic rendez-vous.  We hop the bridge to Hoboken  to cheerfully stand in line for Carlo's Bakery to buy a cannoli.  We've eaten at Bobby Flay's restaurant, walked by Central Park's boat house featured in 27 Dresses and ice skated at Rockefeller Center.  Times Square has been featured in more television, movie and Mosiman family photos then there are LED lights on the New Year's Eve Ball (32,256). Our most-recent pop culture acquisition was Washington Square.  Modeled after the Arc de Triomphe in Paris,  the Washington Arch straddled 5th Avenue until 1964.  The Square boasts an impressive history.  For example, Washington Square hosted the first public demonstration against dangerous and intrusive mass communication as Samuel Morse attempted to revolutionize the world with his little invention.  But who cares about that?  The

Washington Arch was featured predominantly in When Harry Met Sally as well as making a memorable appearance at the introduction of each episode of Friends as Rachel, Ross, Monica, Chandler, Phoebe, and Joey frolicked happily in the fountain.  This fountain was bone dry during our visit but we were undeterred by this unimportant detail.  

Washington Square is a marvelous place.  We entered through the arch like Dorothy entered Munchkinland.  A baby grand on wheels sat before the fountain, its soft music providing us with a soundtrack to accompany our magical experience.  The park is a dog haven and as I sat and watched, a pair of elderly dachshunds slowly made their way towards me, terrorizing the larger dogs in their path.  As I waited patiently for their arrival, another pair of fru-fru dogs appeared behind me, outfitted in splendid sweaters and quite eager to make my acquaintance.  Savannah and I returned their greeting with enthusiasm so their owner agreeably brought them over,  "Who's so beautiful....who's so pretty in the sweater...ooooo....look at the teeny little paws!"  Uninhibited, Savannah and I do not hold back during doggie discourse.  I glanced up at the owner, a somewhat familiar-looking older guy (when I say "older", by the way, I now mean "older than me") dressed in loose grey sweatpants and a sweatshirt.  Social convention dictates that I must also engage him in some conversation so I asked about the dogs.  He first provided us with their Italian names and then helpfully translated them for us before launching into their personality traits.  "Little Lady," he explained, "is rather sluttish in her need for attention."  That got my attention.  I took a closer look and thought to myself, "This man looks like Alec Baldwin."  Not 30 Rock Alec Baldwin.  Not Capital One Alec Baldwin but still Alec Baldwin.  I glanced at my teen-age companions,  No one was reacting.  Maybe I was wrong.  It has happened on one or two different occasions.  In between smooching the pooches, I looked again.  He met my gaze with intense blue eyes.  I was pretty sure this guy was Alec Baldwin and I could tell that this guy was also pretty sure he was Alec Baldwin.  Out of the corner of my eye, I saw that the dachshunds had almost arrived so I thanked "Alec Baldwin" for letting us pet his dogs and sent him on his paparazzi-free path.

My "Was that Alec Baldwin" was met with a series of infuriating "Who?"s.  His credit card commercials triggered some memory recognition and now the I-phone investigation was on.  His pretty Hollywood photo inspired a "well...kind of"shaky confidence that wasn't quite enough to pick him out of a police line-up.  A genius in our group (I stand by the argument that it was me) thought to search for his dogs and sure enough, up sprang a picture!  We squealed with immature delight.  I will admit to some hopping about in circles while the squealing was happening.  Then the lamenting that no one on this earth was going to believe us.  Then the accusations.  "Why didn't you SAY something?"  I did...I said, "Who's so beautiful....who's so pretty in the sweater...ooooo....look at the teeny little paws!"  This would not be my first brush with fame...ask me sometime about Hillary Clinton in a cow barn.  Were I to rate this experience, I'd give it a K-9 out of 10 :) . Minus one point because those snotty little dachshunds  shunned us as they toured the park.  I'll take the slut any day.