My VldP celebrity sighting

[Fuertebrazos]

Now that I've got your attention... It wasn't actually on the VldP, and he wasn't a major celebrity. But perhaps he's a celebrity to the people who frequent this forum and have walked this Camino.

After ending my walk (for now) in Cáceres, I wondered down to Gibraltar for a couple of days and then took the ferry over to Morocco. On the boat back to Tarifa, I fell into a conversation with a couple of Irish guys who live in Seville. One of them said he had walked the VldP a few times, and we had a conversation about the VldP end other Caminos.

About an hour after we met, he asked me if I had used a guidebook. I said, "Yes, Kelly." He then revealed that he was Gerald Kelly, who all of us know through his excellent guide.

Impressive humility. If I had written the best guidebook to a Camino that someone had just spent several weeks walking, I would have revealed it immediately. Instead, he hung back and had a normal conversation about walking the Camino.

I found Gerald's guidebook invaluable. When I stayed in a village, I always checked the guide to see his evaluation. And in villages where there was limitwd accommodation, I used the phone numbers to call ahead and find out if any of the places were open. His guide saved me a couple of emergencies.

After meeting Gerald - who kindly gave me a ride from Tarifa to Algeciras after we got off the ferry - I did what I should have done a few weeks ago, which was to go over to Amazon and give the book a five-star review.

If you have something nice to say about Gerald's guide, I encourage you to head over to Amazon, attach stars to it, and say it in public. It can't be easy relying for income from what must be essentially a labor of love, and those Amazon reviews do help. If you know the book, feel that it has helped you, and haven't written a review, I encourage you to do so.

It was a pleasure meeting Gerald. He's no Brad Pitt, but he is a celebrity to me.

 

[J Willhaus]

Not the same, but similar. I was sitting by someone at a conference and we were discussing textbooks for nursing assessment and I volunteered that I thought such and such book was the best on the market. The woman I was talking to gave me her business card and it turned out she was the author of the book.

So glad you met Mr. Kelly and what a nice reminder to give credit to those who help us on the Camino.

 

[Fuertebrazos]

When I told this story to a friend of mine, who has written several fiction and nonfiction books, she said that if she ever met anyone in real life who had read any of her books, she would be absolutely flattered and thrilled. (Gerald seemed nonchalant.)

 

[Drumbo_hiker]

When I told this story to a friend of mine, who has written several fiction and nonfiction books, she said that if she ever met anyone in real life who had read any of her books, she would be absolutely flattered and thrilled. (Gerald seemed nonchalant.)

Nonchalant on the outside but burning with modest pride in the inside, I’ll wager.

 

[Wandershot]

When I was in Santiago this year, I ran into Patrick and Justin…the I’ll Push You guys. There leading a tour. I fangirled all over them and we hugged. Better then Brad Pitt.

 

[JCarpenter]

Not the same AT all, but my friend and I went to a theater and saw a Coen bros movie. It was perfectly awful. Longest month I ever spent in a movie theater. We walked across the street, sat down at the bar and just sat silently. We were exhausted. The man next to us asked if we went to the movie. My friend Carolyn, who tries not to disparage anything, said, "I can save you some time energy and money." I popped in with "and brain cells." He said, "yeah I'm one of the producers. It was pretty bad"

 

[Kanga]

Martin Sheen was mine.

I do like my friend's old story of her encounter with a celebrity. Noticing a familiar face on a plane as she walked past, she paused and said: "Excuse me, but don't I know you from somewhere? Could it be the tennis club?". "I don't think so" was the reply. When my friend sat down she realised it was Princess Margaret. Blush.