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Canadian Celebrity Watch Part IV
 BeX and I experienced a brush with greatness on Saturday. We took the kids to a new grocery store, trying to avoid the hell of constant begging we hear when my four-year-old is bombarded with Baby Bottle Pops in every aisle. Oh sweet, sweet candy, why must my mother deny me your coma-inducing goodness?
I looked up from my search for pasta after hearing BeX tell my boy, "Be careful, sweetie" and saw him back off from a very tall, older gentleman. I looked at the man's face to see if he was being friendly or scowling, to determine whether I'd have to curse him for being mean to my son. Not only was the man smiling, but his face was familiar. I'd seen him every week on CBC television, when my parents watched his show. It was Tommy Hunter. At first I wasn't sure, but he looked at me with these strong blue eyes that said, "Yes, my child, I am He." It's a good thing I'm fairly shy, otherwise I would have shared my thoughts out loud. "You look great! I thought you were dead!"  Everyone else ignored him, but BeX and I were absolutely giddy. At one point, she and I stared at the canned vegetables in embarrassment because we'd just turned into his aisle. "Let's get out of this row," she grumbled under her breath. "But, but, I need beans!" I sputtered.
Now, I've run across Canadian celebrities when I lived in Toronto, but in those instances I'd see them on the street or in a shop, and just walk by. This, however, was one of those mega-grocery stores, and because of the nature of shopping aisle by aisle, we kept running into Tommy Hunter. In the pudding and cake mix section (Tommy Hunter loves pudding), he was just standing there for awhile, next to a woman choosing spices on the other side. They were both blocking my way, and since Tommy was just standing there (as old people tend to do at the grocery store), I said "Excuse me" to him, forcing him to back his cart a bit and let me through. I won't let celebrity intimidate me. Not a chance! Not even Tommy Hunter can stand in my way! He even said something to me, but I was too in awe to remember what it was now.  Later, in the dairy section, BeX asked what song she should perform in front of Tommy Hunter. She figured she'd take the opportunity for an audition. Never mind that those bastards at the CBC cancelled his show in 1992 (after bringing in more than a million viewers each week for 27 years). This was her big break.
As we continued to chatter about Tommy Hunter in housewares, he turned into our aisle. Ohmygod, Tommy Hunter was following us! We nearly broke into hysterical laughter, but somehow managed to keep it to a titter. That's how we kept referring to him too. Tommy Hunter. Not Tommy, or Mr. Hunter. We said TommyHunter, like it was a one word mantra. God forbid we ever run into Neil Young at the drug store. I'm positive we'd both spontaneously combust.
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