Thursday, September 29, 2011

Mud

Guess who was spotted at Dollar General this week at Dumas, Arkansas? Reese Witherspoon, really! Can you imagine pushing your cart down the aisle, loading up on Fanta Orange, detergent and toothpaste when you round the corner and right smack dab in front of you is Elle Woods from Legally Blonde! They said on the news last night ( Yes, it made the news... this is big stuff here!) that she's doing a movie with Matthew McConaughey, Tye Sheridan and Sam Shepard. The feature film “Mud” is written and directed by Arkansas native Jeff Nichols. MUD is about two 14-year-old boys who get tangled up with a mysterious fugitive hiding out on an island in the Mississippi River. They get in over their heads and it it isn't long until a line of bounty hunters besiege their small Arkansas town.

So back to running into celebrities, have you ever? It was 1982, and among the first people who shook our hands and welcomed us to Bentonville, Arkansas' First Presbyterian Church were Sam and Helen Walton. You would never have guessed that they were billionaires, they were just two friendly Arkansan's welcoming a new family. Years later in 1992, I stood in front of Walmart Headquarters as President Bush passed by in his limo to present Sam Walton with the Presidential Medal of Freedom. The nation's highest honor that can be awarded to a civilian, it was only a few weeks until Sam Walton passed away from bone cancer. We stood there as much for Mr. Sam, it was incidental that the President was there too. Proud of our own, when Mud opens in 2013, we'll be there with bells on to give Jeff Nichols some support. I bet with actors like Witherspoon and McConaughey, it's going to be a great movie!

13 comments:

  1. wow..she looks a bit different in her "regular" dress! I haven't thought of this in years but Walter Brennan (remember him?) and his wife would come to our little church every Sunday. Help me out..I swear I can't remember what show he was on...I'm pitiful

    ReplyDelete
  2. The Real McCoy's, we never missed it! Walter Brennen was a wonderful "character" actor.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I have never met a celebrity :( I loved Sam Walton. Made in the USA when he ran things. I swear Walmart changed my life small town life. Some people hate that he had it all in one store... but I loved that. My bff and I teased we were wearing black arm bands for a month when he passed away.
    The movie sounds good. I love Reese.

    ReplyDelete
  4. i danced next to Rich Little once in a Dallas night club. :) ha!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Very cool, I like her...I have run into some but it was a long time ago! ;D

    ReplyDelete
  6. Billy Gibbons chatted with me in a bar, decades ago. Said he was in a band. Didn't know him from Adam's house cat, then.

    ReplyDelete
  7. I did not get to meet the Waltons when I was in Lowell AR but I did get to meet J.B.Hunt, I was driving for Hunt and was thrilled to go in the very first WalMart built, right there in Lowell and on top of the mountain. I have never seen a celebrity, I bet you were excited.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Reese Witherspoon is one of my favorite actresses. I wouldn't mind running into her OR Sam Shepard. I'll put the movie on my "to see" list.

    ReplyDelete
  9. I can't imagine what Reese might have been buying at Dollar General...did you get a peek into her basket? Just curious that she might use some secret, cheap face cream or something!
    My closest encounter with a celeb was in 2001 when I was a guest of Oprah's on a show about inspiration.
    Kathy

    ReplyDelete
  10. Eddie Murphy was at Chippendales in NYC when I was 19 and about to move to CT. My girlfriends and I went out for the night and he was attracted to my friend Stacey - he had his body guards bring us upstairs to his balcony at Chippendales to "get to know her". Nothing happened, because we were too young and he was courteous about that.. but what got me was his height... he's very short! I'm 5'4" and he isn't all that much taller.

    ReplyDelete
  11. You bet I'll see the movie. I love
    Matt McCougnehy, for sure.
    Oh my where would we be today without Sam Walton-especially with the economy in the shape it's in now! That's getting to be about the only place I shop anymore.
    You do have your share of famous folks down there in Arkansas. Good folks too.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Oh my gosh, Reese Witherspoon is my absolute favorite actress! That is so cool. I love her in "Sweet Home Alabama" which is my most favorite romance. Have you ever seen that movie? If not, rent it. It's totally worth it. I once lived in Hollywood and saw a few actors. I saw Paul Newman driving in a convertible Mustang. I saw Donna Mills shopping for makeup and I bumped elbows with Katey Sagal at a nightclub.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Well, you all know Brad Pitt is a native of Springfield, Mo. His family is still here. I have read that he and his family slip in and out pretty often for visits. Our news media must respect his privacy because there is never anything on the news about it.

    No one has every reported seeing them either.

    I suspect if we saw some celebrities in street clothes without all the makeup we might not even recognize them.

    I love when Oprah did that on her show. She showed how she looks when she shows up for work without the "do" and makeup. I would barely have recognized her!

    We will be watching for that movie.

    ReplyDelete

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...