PAPARAZZI

Chicago (the musical, not the city) was great. Actually, sitting down for a couple hours was great - no matter what we watched. but Chicago was great. I need to look up the cast. There were a couple of real stand outs. I'm not familiar with her pop music, but Ashlee Simpson sang and danced very well tonight - no lip syncing I swear.

Then we met up with her mom , Tina, and headed back to Ashlee's dressing room. Amy, Brian's wife, baby sat Ashlee and Jessica years ago - don't mention it to her - she'll only roll her eyes and say "I'm so ooooold." Yea, she is. I am too. Which is probably a lot of why I've not been a fan of her discs, or known much about her.

Our visit back stage was mostly about seeing Joe, Amy's youth former minister and Ashlee's dad/manager. Becky's and Amy's father, still a pastor today, hired Joe while pastoring a church in the Dallas area long long ago. It's been good to give our wives a break for many many days here in Europe - even better to see Amy light up reuniting with old friends. They swapped stories and Brian and I were wallpaper, standing in the huddle saying nothing much at all, and I realized I was now on the other end of fame - though a much larger amount of it than I'm use to.

We were the old friends paying the visit, the ones asking for a quick picture and apologizing for the intrusion, the ones being told "it's no big deal." And it truly wasn't. Just old friends catching up. I even forgot for a minute that everyone with cable and a teen-ager knows this family.

Then we went out the door backstage marked EXIT and I remembered again. A mob of fans and paparazzi flashed away as if we were somebody. Actually, they flashed away at Brian and Amy, the first two through the door. Amy eeked and scooted backward into the building like a roach when the kitchen light's been turned on - quickly.

We looked for an alternate exit but were told by security that it was the paparazzi door or nothing, so out we went. This time, no flashes. I thought about pausing on the back steps and announcing to the media that I'm a famous blogger from the U.S. but decided at the last second to let Ashlee have all the limelight. She earned it. And I can be famous some other day.

Or never.

I might just move to London and play the sax in a musical.