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Keep on playing...
By Kirstin McMahon - Member
“We don't stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing.”
George Bernard Shaw
Manchester UK, 2006..... I was coming out the other side of a difficult time in my life...a
painful break up, a move to a new city, spending all my time working, not seeing friends
very often, and becoming a bit of a recluse. All work and no play. Dull wasn’t the word. I
had almost forgotten who I was. By the end of the year I found myself feeling really rather
empty. It was at this time that I stumbled upon “A Night at the Roxbury”. WELL WAIT
JUST ONE MINUTE, I told myself. LETS WATCH THAT ONE AGAIN (I was in the habit of
talking to myself during this period). So I watched it again, and it just really seemed to
strike a chord.
Having never seen the characters on SNL (it's not televised here), it was all new to me.
You know when something comes along and really makes lasting impression on you? In
this case it was the Butabi Brothers. It had all become clear. It would seem I had stopped
playing, but something had to be done..........
..............So there I was joining the Chris Kattan Fan Club, and having never joined a fan
club before, I thought at 34 years of age it was about bloody time. I was trying a whole list
of new things, and things were beginning to get a lot better.
The Phone Call competition was coming up, and although I had reinvested some extra
points won on the monthly draw (under the advice of the lovely Risa), I had been in three
continents in the space of a week and a half and I didn’t have my laptop with me, and was
quite oblivious to what had been going on...........
I’d just got back from working in Rio, still on a high after spending the most amazing few
days in the party capital of the world, back to rainy old Manchester (Manchester in the
summer is much the same as winter). Anyway, while checking my emails I saw another
had come in from my favourite webmaster. SORRY.......... What did it say!?!! WINNER?
Not a word generally found next to my name!! NO WAY!! I’d WON THE PHONE CALL.
Well you should have seen my face. I wish I had. I felt a bit dizzy. Better sit down. Yes.
Good idea.
What am I going to say? Have a cup of tea. I started laughing. How amazing!!.......
But, what would I say?? Would I tell Chris why I joined his fan club?? Would it sound
crazy??
Well that was back in August, and the months that followed proved quite a scheduling
workout for all involved, particularly Risa. She deserves an over-sized trophy for her
patience! Most of the time there was an 8 or 9 hour time difference, and we were both
traveling a lot. I have an image in my head of Risa with a large world map on the wall,
charting our co-ordinates with little flags. SHE KNEW MY EVERY MOVE, and every
contact number. Then for 6 weeks I was working in the middle of nowhere, doing 15 hour
days, and the closest village with network coverage was about 20 miles away. So it
wasn’t going to happen for a while.
Then, it all got so busy for Chris, for Risa, I moved house. I really didn’t expect to receive
the call from Chris late one Sunday night. And would you believe it my phone was
switched off!! It wasn’t until the morning when I was checking my messages:
- “Hi Kirstin, Chris Kattan”
I DON’T BELIEVE IT!!
- “I can’t believe I actually made contact. WE’RE ALMOST THERE! We’re going to make it!!”
Our time differences had shifted as UK clocks changed the week before.............
- “I’ll call you back, tomorrow? Hopefully that will work.........”
He sounded really friendly, and not too bothered that he had to leave a message.
Anyway, another week or so passed. I was sitting watching television with my friend
Elaine, eating soup, just generally slobbing out, when I heard my phone ring. By the time I
had got to it it was too late. On checking the number it said UNKNOWN. I KNEW IT
THEN. Chris had called AGAIN!!! And sure enough he left ANOTHER message. Well at
this point I was feeling really embarrassed!!
- “Hi Kirstin, it’s Chris Kattan.”
OHH NOOO.
THIS IS REALLY BAD.
He sounded really lovely and said he would call back in an hour!! OK. All I need to do is
keep the line free for the next hour! Well, typically, the phone didn’t stop. Hi...sorry...can’t
talk..NO! DON’T CALL BACK...will call you tomorrow....blah, blah, saying anything to keep
the line free.
Next call....... UNKNOWN NUMBER!!!!! This is it. I looked over at Elaine. She gave me a supportive nod and I nodded back. All of a sudden I became very nervous. My trembling
hand managed to picked up the phone..........
- “Hello”, I said in my best ‘not-too-Scottish’ accent (I speak very fast and super-Scottish when I’m excited)
“Hi Kirstin, it’s Chris Kattan.”
“Chris! How are you? At last we made contact!”
There was a general sense of elation after finally making contact after 3+ months of
hurdles and time differences, and then I was swept away in conversation. Almost instantly
(there were a few blurry moments when my mind went blank, and was very conscious of
sounding extremely boring) it felt completely natural to chat away, and the good thing was
he liked AND understood my accent. He really was a pleasure to speak to, although I
seemed to be talking about myself a lot!!
We got onto the subject of soup, and both agreed it was very good. We talked about his hidden artistic abilities, art and exhibitions, favourite paintings, his
favourite journeys, and of course tea and the weather (well I am British).
What I did manage to find out was................
He has Fur Elise as his ringtone
He’s environmentally friendly
He’s good at brainstorming
Prefers Ghandi to Guevara
He’s living his dream.......................
He was such good fun, and gave off a lovely energy, the kind that makes you feel at ease,
so you can just be yourself. I almost forgot to ask questions that I had lined up earlier, but,
I did use them rather sparingly as I realised they sounded like I was compiling a psychiatric
profile on Chris.
We got onto the subject of photography, which we both seemed rather keen on. It all got
rather technical, comparing cameras, and even discussed the future of motion picture
technology, the film vs High Definition debate. But both agreed that film is always best.
He told me of his future projects, and sounded like he was in a really good place.
We wrapped up the conversation, and I told him how lovely it was to catch up with him,
just like catching up with a good friend. I wished him all the best for his future projects, and
we said our goodbyes.
From just one phone call, I found Chris to be a genuinely warm and open person, and he
created a really lovely atmosphere (even on the phone), which isn’t always easy. And hats
off to anyone who can deal with terribly British subject matters such as tea and the weather
with grace and good humour!! TOP FELLA!!!
Keep on playing.........................................
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