No Demi-Glaze

This country loves celebrities. England has their royalty in Buckingham Palace and we have ours in Beverly Hills. For most of us these deities remain at a distance on You Tube or the Boob Tube, but every so often, we actually come face to face with one of these celebs and maybe even have the opportunity to speak with them. And just as the right moment presents itself.....we say something completely stupid.

"I love your movies." "I have all your songs on my iPod." "Will you marry me?" Our brains go numb, our synapses no longer connect and we speak like we just completed the first grade.

Our family has always been different. Not necessarily better, just different. When my wife and I attended an after party for a Tom Selleck movie, we cornered Mr. Selleck near a decorative fruit table. My wife grabbed a grapefruit and asked if he'd sign it. Tom, respectfully declined and said, "if I signed a grapefruit for you, I'd have to sign a grapefruit for everyone." At an ABC party in the early 90's, I spotted Donald Trump. His wife at the time was Marla Maples and I knew just what to say to get his attention. "Mr. Trump, I saw your wife last night." Both he and his bodyguard looked at me with venom. With a slight hesitation, I finished, "in the Will Rogers Follies. Her performance was great." The Donald relaxed and needless to say it was a quick conversation.

So when I was told that my kids had an opportunity to meet Demi Lovato of Disney fame, I couldn't really impart any celebrity approaching wisdom. I just set the stage for them. "You'll be in a posh manhattan hotel, and she'll be in the process of being interviewed by the press to promote Camp Rock 2. She'll probably have time for a quick hello, maybe a picture and then your brief brush with fame will be over." Now for those parents out there, especially those with daughters, you already know that meeting a Disney Channel star is a big deal. Demi Lovato plays with the Jonas Brothers and is the second coming of Miley Cyrus.

My girls needed to bring their A games. They began researching and discovered that Demi Lovato was teased so badly in school that she was forced to be home schooled. As a result, she's now heavily involved with an anti-bullying charity. They went out and bought a teddy bear, placed it in a pink box with a note that saying they'd love to bring the message to their schools. And just in case she thought it was a good idea, they prepared their email addresses.

The big day arrived last week. They went to the hotel, received special access and waited patiently for Demi Lovato to make a quick appearance. My wife and I came armed as well with cameras, sharpies, and pictures. But we had no idea what to expect. They could scream, they could cry, they could be shy. What would they say to their idol when it was crunch time?

The big moment arrived. Demi was escorted by a Disney employee. She first introduced herself to me and my wife, and we thanked her for making the time to meet our girls. My wife commented on how different her hair looked, clearly admitting that she watched Demi as much as her kids did on the Disney Channel. Now Demi moved on to the kids. Just her and them.

They introduced themselves and asked if they could give her a present. She graciously accepted and the kids explained that it was in honor of her work with her charity. Next came the perfunctory picture where she allowed three different shots. Clearly busy, Demi looked like she was ready to move on. Then they did something unexpected.

They asked if they could sing Demi one of her songs. Now this could have many different repercussions. First, she could say that she didn't have time. Or maybe she had the time, but my kids will sing off key. Or foget the lyrics. Demi agreed. My oldest daughter went first and jumped right into ""This is Me" from Camp Rock. The lyrics were perfect, the notes were perfect. Demi smiled separately at both my wife and I. My daughter finished and Demi told her how good she was. Several members of the Disney staff applauded. A true professional, Demi turned to my younger daughter and asked if she wanted to give it a try. A little more reserved, and slightly shy, she also got through the song with flying colors.

At the end of the day, I asked my kids if they ever thought they'd be singing in front of one of their heroes. They were still in shock. But little did they know what they accomplished; meeting a celebrity and engaging her for a few minutes. They performed much better than their parents would have at their age or maybe at any age.

In a stressful situation, they performed like champs. And for that, they're my heroes.