You Wish You Were Me

Another lovely night at my fave dive bar. Visits with friends not seen for six months. The lilt of English spoken with a Dublin accent. A pint of Guinness-a five-minute Guinness, the way God Himself meant it to be poured. Unpretentious and relaxing. I had a report that a bunch of teachers had come in and torn the place up to celebrate the last day of school, and drunken singing of "Schoooooool's out for TEACHERS!" a la Alice Cooper had rung to the rafters.

I enjoyed a pint with friends, and heard a voice next to me. A rich, distinctive voice, one that I really love to listen to. I listened, thinking I must be wrong, and fought the urge to whip my head around, partially because my neck was sore, and partially because seeming uncool in L.A. is asking for trouble, like bleeding in shark-infested waters.

I listened longer, turning slightly in my chair to bring my peripheral vision into view. Yup. It was he. Black nail polish on lovely brown hands, a glimpse of a profile as I tried to get a look without seeming like I was looking. I was born in L.A. I had experience at this. I know he didn't see me looking, though his buddy might have. They started to have a slightly heated discussion of who was going to pay for drinks, along the lines of "I am!" "No, I am." I took the opportunity to butt in and mentioned that sometimes, the most gracious thing to do was to say "Thank you. I'll pay for the next round." I got a momentary blank stare, and one turned to the other, and repeated, gracefully, what I had just said, only a twitch of a smile on his intense and very serious face. "See how easy that was?" I asked. They both smiled and were kind enough to include me in their conversation for the next hour or two.

I am proud to say that I did not geek out in front of them, though I did run into the bathroom to call Mr. ShellHawk and tease him with my (then) current circumstance. It was a good minute of "No way!" "Way!"

Who was it? This man, who is as smart, funny and sexy in person as he is on screen. And no, he's not really gay, though he plays one on t.v.

Nelsan Ellis, also known as Lafayette on HBO's True Blood. His friend Jay (sorry-I didn't catch a last name, and he probably would have thought it creepy if I had asked) was absolutely a delightful conversationalist, and I really enjoyed my time with the both of them. I hope to see both of their careers soar, mostly because they were both really nice and down-to-earth people (and they also have real talent), unlike some other actors I have met-or is that tangled with? And before you rush off to the bar to star-search, he isn't a regular, so you won't see him there.

Nelsan, if you read this, thanks for a fun and relaxing evening and great convo. You're a doll! Oh, and to be really Hollywood- Love you! Love your show! *air kiss*