Starstruck: You've Got Meg!

Meg Ryan, New York

Meg Ryan, "You've Got Mail"

Meg Ryan and Daisy True

This is going to be one of my favorite kinds of posts. I'm calling the series "Starstruck" for obvious reasons. It's that feeling you get when you're walking down the street, listening to music, minding your own business, when suddenly, out of the corner of your eye, you spot a very familiar face...or in my case, a very familiar back of the head and profile.

Ironically, I just watched "You've Got Mail" starring Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan the other day, a movie I haven't seen in years. We joked about how dated it seems, what with the fact that it's all about AOL, dial-up Internet, and the dawn of online dating (all of which are so last decade). Nevertheless, it's a classic, especially for a book-lover like myself.

I didn't think anything else of it until this morning as I was walking to work. It's only day two of my new job at Abrams, and as I turned onto 13th Street towards 6th Avenue, I noticed a woman wearing a long black coat, black hat, black sneakers, and round sunglasses with curly blonde hair and a strangely familiar gait. She had just dropped off a child at school and was heading back home, presumably. Upon closer inspection, I realized she looked an awful lot like Meg Ryan. But the possibility of me walking behind Meg Ryan on the street is slim, though less so now that we reside in the same city.

It wasn't until she took out her phone and began speaking--to her agent? boyfriend? friend? personal trainer?--that I was sure. That voice--from "You've Got Mail," "When Harry Met Sally," and (my favorite) "Anastasia." It was definitely Meg Ryan!

Had it taken me less time to figure out it was really her, and had we not walked in opposite directions down 6th Avenue, and had she not been talking on the phone, I would have introduced myself, asked for a quick photo, and thanked her before getting on with my day. Alas, she walks fast, and I didn't want to interrupt her.

HOWEVER...

Now I know where her daughter Daisy goes to school (very close to my office) and that Meg is a very involved parent (she walks her to school). So, in theory, I know where to find her. Wow, that sounds stalkerish, but I think you know what I mean.