I {heart} Hal Sparks.

Last night my brother and I went to a show at Cobbs Comedy Club.* It was a lovely evening, chock full o'laughs all around, but the highlight of the show for me was getting to meet Hal Sparks afterward. I got to shake his hand and say thanks and tell him how funny he was. (He wasn't HIGH-larious, but he was pretty funny.)

My first brush with fame. Hey, he's no Bono, but given my complete adoration of him in "Queer as Folk" and "I Love the [insert decade of choice]", shaking his hand was damn exciting for me.

THEN! We (my brother and I, not Hal Sparks and I) went to dinner after the show, and while walking back to the car we saw Hal Sparks! Again! Just walking down the street with his friends! So my brother says "Hey Hal Sparks! I saw your show tonight!" and shook his hand. And Hal Sparks was very gracious and friendly. And that was pretty random and cool.

And THEN! Today we were driving around the 49-mile scenic tour and right there, in Fisherman's Wharf, we saw Hal Sparks! Again! Getting into a cab! So my brother leans out the left backseat window (quite a feat from the passenger seat) and says "Hey Hal Sparks!" and gets a picture of him waving somewhat confusedly and/or annoyedly. But still graciously. And that was pretty random and cool.

At that point we ditched the 49-mile scenic tour for a few minutes and made up our own "Where's Hal Sparks" game (akin to "Where's Waldo"), where we pictured ourselves running into Hal Sparks in various places throughout the day and in our everyday lives. We wondered what would've happened if we'd offered him a ride to wherever he was going. We pondered whether another sighting and "Hey Hal Sparks!" exclamation from my brother would warrant a restraining order. And we questioned whether "Hal Sparks" was really his name... ??

Good times, good times.

More on this week's antics to come.

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* For the record: Cobbs is no longer in the Cannery - it's now about six blocks up on Columbus. Let ye be warned.