Hanging with Jerome, a.k.a. a formal apology to Jerome Bettis.

For those of you that have not heard (translation - anyone left on earth that we have not managed to brag to), Mirage Photo just had the pleasure of shooting a destination wedding for Kelly and Stuart in Saint Thomas (US Virgin Islands). It was everything you would have hoped it would be... Beautiful couple, wonderful families, gorgeous setting, and on and on and on. I will get some photos posted very soon. Still trying to recover from a "slight" sunburn and sleep deprivation on the journey home. Speaking of the journey home, I thought it might be fun to share with you a little excerpt from an e-mail I sent to my buddy Devin (who happens to live in Charlotte, NC and is a fantastic up-and-coming photographer whom I cannot wait to work with if we ever get the opportunity)

"By the time we made Charlotte last night, I was exhausted and quite sunburned and running late after sitting on the runway while they tried to move a plane at the gate. Just wanted to let you know why I did not call. Then... as we are getting off the plane and headed to our other gate, I end up standing next to Jerome Bettis at the counter in the LIDS store. He is buying a Detroit hat while I am trying on sunglasses. I looked up and just about fell over. I know he could see the surprise on my face, and I am like,,, "hey…what’s up". At the same moment I am looking up to the NFL hats and considering buying a Steelers hat to have him sign it, when the guy behind the counter is like,,, "holy *##@)& (rhymes with fit)... I just sold “the Bus” a *&%#&##@ (rhymes with mucking) hat…. And I am like,,, wow.. that was awkward.. so I did not say anything else. Then low and behold he is sitting at the gate across from us so Samantha went up to him and asked if I could get my picture with him because I am too big of a #$%#&%$#@@ (sounds like, uh.... virginia, sort of) to ask him, and sure enough, HE DOES IT. Is that weird?? I really don’t get many brushes with greatness but I thought that was pretty damn cool. And then he is like,,, "thanks for keeping it real in STL, we should hang out sometime because you take really cool pictures",,,, actually he did not say that at all but that is what I am going to tell everybody."

So that is my Jerome Bettis story.... In all honesty, it was very cool and Mr. Bettis was a real gentleman to accommodate us. I felt horrible because after we interrupted him at the gate, he was swamped by other folks wanting pictures and autographs so if by some freakish chance he should read this, then I would like to formally apologize for inconveniencing him. He truly went out of his way to be nice to us and I am quite certain the majority of famous people in the world would be not so polite. Thank you!!! (in case he does end up reading this) I was a big fan when he played here is St. Louis (and L.A.) and he was always a class act in Pittsburgh, not to mention one of the greatest running backs in NFL history, 6 time Pro Bowler and Super Bowl Champion. No offense Sweetness.