When I met Julia Roberts!

When I met Julia Roberts

I first “met” her when I was at college. I watched her hugely successful movie four to five times! “Seriously..??? You must be kidding” you would probably say quite surprised..! “Yes, I’m kidding, I actually watched it six times, and probably one more to take some photos..!!”

The new, modern Snow-White role she had in that film didn’t leave me untouched. Had I not watched similar movies before? Of course, I had, but that actress had something special. It was like I fell in love again after a long time. I looked for the best way of taking some photos in a dark room without using my camera flash. That was it! In that quiet theater of Thessaloniki, that beautiful and vibrant Greek city, I secretly started taking photos, and… the miracle happened, mission accomplished! A beautiful small poster, a photo collage made with the best photos I had taken, hung on the wall of my bedroom next to the closet. I enjoyed telling my friends they were real photos I had gotten from a friend who knew her… or something like that. The funny thing? For a moment they believed it. Who would think at that time that a guy could go that far to take photos in a theater secretly? Remember, it was still the time of the conventional cameras. Forget the cellphones and all the technology that followed years later.

“I don’t know how, but I will meet her one day,” I used to say to some friends, and they just shook their heads in a way translated to “Kosmas, open your Anatomy book to… land on earth.” I was studying to become a teacher of Physical Education. Exercise had always been my passion.

Years went by, and at times, strange events kept reminding me that once I liked Julia Roberts. Like when three of the girls I fell in love with had so much in common with her. The one, the way she talked; the other, her face; the third one, her movements and whole aura. How strange life is… Nothing serious happened with them, but I kept believing in fairy tales. Good that I did… because I turned my life into a beautiful one…

…

That day, I didn’t expect anything different from the ordinary. It was another morning like all the others at the gym, the family business where I spent most of my time. It was many years later, in my birthplace that time, the beautiful island of Chios. “Take this to listen to Julia,” she said, leaving it on the front desk. A client and a good friend… She knew about my sort of “history” with Julia, but she didn’t expect me to get that shocked. It was a CD…

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Although I decided to pursue a career in Fitness & Exercise, I had always had inside of me the music bug. I had studied music theory and the piano for about six years, but what I enjoyed doing the most was sitting at the piano and composing little pieces of music. Over time, that urge grew stronger within me, and I started writing music to be part of an album. I always dreamed of releasing an album with my music. Almost every night after work, usually the late night hours, I was “traveling to my heavens,” places where only music can take you. It seems that the overnight hours have always worked for me toward achieving great things, but no relation to Dracula. I just love the silence during those hours when no one bothers you. So, day after day (actually, night after night), note by note, I finally completed 12 pieces of music, writing also a few words to be read in between. Say it a modern fairy tale; some sort of poetry and music happily married.

“It is good, but it can’t go that far at the time when people are listening to other music genres,” a record label said to me. Then, it hit me! A brilliant idea came to mind… “I know!” I said to myself. “Yes! Why did I not think of it before? Yeah..!”

It hit me… the stone with which I could hit two birds.!? “I will use my music for a good cause, and I will invite Julia Roberts to read the short lines, my sort of poetry. I love her voice! It will be a philanthropic project; she can’t say no, and my music will reach a broad audience, too…” Life had other plans, however. Sadly, I lost that work of music — all my overnight efforts to complete something beautiful for nearly two years had just collapsed.

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“Is it a new movie where she sings???” I asked, my curiosity was building. “No, you’ ll see…” I took the CD in my hands, and…Oh My..!!! it was exactly the concept I had… That was so surreal!! Nobody had known about my idea. How could that happen?

Hollywood actors were reading poems of a famous poet, and in between, there was beautiful instrumental music. Indeed, Julia’s voice was an excellent fit for that.
“You know something… One day, I’ll meet her. Isn’t it a sign? This is insane!” I kept saying. My friend was a bit surprised and confused… “Kosmas, I wish you do… but let’s go now to do our Spinning class,” which translated probably to… “Kosmas, get down to earth!”

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Years went by, and from a small village of a Greek island, life brought me to New York. Actually, I brought myself to New York, not to find Julia, of course, but because I wanted to get the most out of life, that short but unique life we all have. Even with a big delay, I understood that not a single second of our journey to planet Earth should ever be wasted.

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The truth is, from TV everything looks better. When you are there, you see the pandemonium behind the cameras, and a little disappointment on your face is a matter of time. That was not enough, however, to take away the excitement I had had the whole day. She was standing almost in front of me, in that hotel in New York, and I was… like another wax figure of Madame Tussauds two-three feet away. I had never been and never imagined I would ever be at the red carpet of a new movie. Not that I was invited, but I was taken there…

A good friend was a journalist working for a known TV show. “Kosmas, I’m going to the red carpet of… Would you like to join me?” It didn’t take me long to answer… I was holding the phone in a way that could describe something between a “what??!” and The Statue of Liberty! “YES!!!” I said to her and myself, somehow screaming and celebrating inside of me, “I made it, I made it!!!” As another Flashman, I was transported there in seconds. I had probably mentioned to her my college-years celebrity crush.

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I was watching Julia Roberts while answering the questions my friend asked. I was standing right behind them taking some photos. I could talk to her, just a “hi,” but I didn’t… It was that time, however, that I realized that anything is possible in this life, as long as we believe in fairy tales and miracles, and try to be part of them.

Published: August 21st, 2024 | Last Edited: August 21st, 2024 | MENTAL – THANK YOU, LIFE! | All Stories |