WEDNESDAY RIDDLE EXPLAINED

On Wednesday morning, I was in my stretch limo on the way to the studio, schmoozing with the driver about all the other celebrities he’s driven in his career. There’s the expected range of good, bad and ugly. Cher’s a diva. Gere’s a jerk. Reeve was a saint, even before the accident. We talk about celebrity, and how the power of prominence can either be used for good or for evil. Of course, those are my words, not his. He uses words that I don’t hear every day, like “Fuggedaboutit” and “not for nothin’.”

I arrived at the studio and a PA escorted me to a room with my name on the door; the room is only slightly smaller than my apartment. There’s food there—2 muffins, some fruit, and two bowls of butter and cream cheese that indicated that the room was not invented for me. Someone must have eaten the bagels before I got there. Had I been a true diva, I would have thrown a rock star style fit, but I decided to let it slide (this once).

For those who asked, and those who didn’t, I spent Wednesday afternoon taping an episode of the WB talk show Life & Style. No, it wasn’t my big break, no audition to take over for Jules Asner in the glamour spot, nor had I been invited to share my expertise on the Jewish dating scene. I was there merely for my cheekbones…I had my makeup professionally done by Catherine Hickland, a soap star from One Life To Live. (In case you want to see who she is, her bio is here.) She has her own cosmetics company and before she became an actress, she started out as a makeup artist. Soap opera fans will know her also as the wife of Michael E. Knight (All My Children's Tad Martin). The show airs March 28.

Highlights? Catherine and celebrity makeup artist Bruce telling me I had great skin and cheekbones…making my grand entrance after the makeover…seeing how gorgeous Jules Asner is first-hand…meeting comedian Lynn Koplitz and making her laugh…having people around whose only job is to make me look beautiful…getting some free makeup...stretch limos to and from the studio...feeling glamorous and having people do a doubletake when they see me on the street…feeling a little superior to everyone else for a little while…

I understand, now. People on TV are treated better than other people, and sometimes they begin to think they actually are, intrinsically, better. It was suddenly clear: feeling special doesn’t mean that you’re better, just happier with being different.

WEDNESDAY RIDDLE EXPLAINED

On Wednesday morning, I was in my stretch limo on the way to the studio, schmoozing with the driver about all the other celebrities he’s driven in his career. There’s the expected range of good, bad and ugly. Cher’s a diva. Gere’s a jerk. Reeve was a saint, even before the accident. We talk about celebrity, and how the power of prominence can either be used for good or for evil. Of course, those are my words, not his. He uses words that I don’t hear every day, like “Fuggedaboutit” and “not for nothin’.”

I arrived at the studio and a PA escorted me to a room with my name on the door; the room is only slightly smaller than my apartment. There’s food there—2 muffins, some fruit, and two bowls of butter and cream cheese that indicated that the room was not invented for me. Someone must have eaten the bagels before I got there. Had I been a true diva, I would have thrown a rock star style fit, but I decided to let it slide (this once).

For those who asked, and those who didn’t, I spent Wednesday afternoon taping an episode of the WB talk show Life & Style. No, it wasn’t my big break, no audition to take over for Jules Asner in the glamour spot, nor had I been invited to share my expertise on the Jewish dating scene. I was there merely for my cheekbones…I had my makeup professionally done by Catherine Hickland, a soap star from One Life To Live. (In case you want to see who she is, her bio is here.) She has her own cosmetics company and before she became an actress, she started out as a makeup artist. Soap opera fans will know her also as the wife of Michael E. Knight (All My Children's Tad Martin). The show airs March 28.

Highlights? Catherine and celebrity makeup artist Bruce telling me I had great skin and cheekbones…making my grand entrance after the makeover…seeing how gorgeous Jules Asner is first-hand…meeting comedian Lynn Koplitz and making her laugh…having people around whose only job is to make me look beautiful…getting some free makeup...stretch limos to and from the studio...feeling glamorous and having people do a doubletake when they see me on the street…feeling a little superior to everyone else for a little while…

I understand, now. People on TV are treated better than other people, and sometimes they begin to think they actually are, intrinsically, better. It was suddenly clear: feeling special doesn’t mean that you’re better, just happier with being different.