Caribou Coffee: ... Meeting Gale

I met Gale when I was in Minneapolis last year to see Randy in 'The Glass Menagerie'. I'd happened to see him at the evening performance of the play on Saturday. Was that ever a surprise!!! Never in a million years would I have expected that, lol. On Sunday morning I went over to Caribou Coffee which was literally a block from my hotel.

I got my coffee and sat down at a back corner table with a straight on view of the front door (I am somewhat embarrassed to admit that I was rather desperately and pathetically hoping to catch a glimpse of Randy since he wasn't coming to the stage door, lol). I was just sitting there, drinking my coffee and eating my muffin and going through the guidebook I bought about the Berkshires, where the Berkshire Theatre festival is (yes, I plan ahead, lol). I was there maybe 45 mins or so and who comes walking in? Gale. He scanned the room, I guess just checking things out. I was looking right at him and we made eye contact. He ordered a coffee, bagel and water. While he was waiting he grabbed some sections of the newspaper that was laying on one of the tables. He got his stuff and went and put it down at a table by the front door. However, he wanted his bagel toasted. And the toaster is by the back door where I was sitting. So he comes over and I'm just drinking my coffee (I was on my second cup by then) and sitting there and there is NO way I'm going to let this moment pass so I get up to get some half & half, which is right next to the bagel toaster, for my coffee, and I say, "So what did you think of the play last night?" Gale leans down into my personal space, looks at me very intensely and says, "Huh?" I say, "Randy's play, what did you think of it?" He looks at me for a moment, then I see him visibly relax (quite fascinating to see him visibly relax like that, lol), and he says "I thought it was good." I say "Yeah, the matinee was REALLY great." He says "Oh really?" I think at this point he realized I'm wasn't a total freak so he didn't really mind talking to me, lol. He was actually very nice and patient with me. I say, "Yeah it was. I saw the preview in Jan. and the matinee performance yesterday was just really smooth, it went really well. But last night's performance was really good too." And then I think he just said something like "Yeah". I said, "I'm sorry I didn't see you in New York (referring to SLS which had just finished in Jan.) and he says in the cutest voice ever, "Aww, that's okay." And then I go and sit back down. He is VERY softspoken. And it's really funny because he's so tall and I'm like 5'0" tall and I was trying not to draw attention so I was also speaking quietly and he was really leaning into my personal space, lol. And he's SO intense. Like, he just looks you right in the eye and focuses completely on you like whatever you're saying is the most important thing ever. In different circumstances it would have been really intimidating.

So, after I talk with him I go sit back down. I was shaking so bad, it's not even funny. Anyway, I just go back to my book and I watch him eat his breakfast and read the newspaper. I realized I didn't thank him for making my trip special because I can always see Randy in Stockbridge or wherever but I'll be lucky if I ever see Gale again. I watch him and he finishes his breakfast and stops reading the paper and he's just looking out the window, thinking about stuff I suppose (maybe, "I hope that person doesn't bother me anymore", lol). I finally work up the nerve to go over to him and I say, "Thank you. You really made my trip. I've been trying to get Randy to sign my tickets since Thursday, but he hasn't come to the stage door." (Could I be any more of a dork, lol?) Gale's just looking at me with his really intense eyes and since he's sitting at one of those high top bar tables we're basically face to face. He's probably thinking "I wish she'd leave me alone" but he just says something like "Oh okay" (I actually don't exactly remember) and kind of smiles (I think it was actually more of a smirk, lol) and I just say "Thank you" and leave him alone. He stayed for a little bit after that and then we both ended up leaving around the same time. My last view of Gale was walking down the street toward NicoletteMall, wrapping his scarf around his neck. *sigh*

For those who want to be able to picture him, when I saw him it was only a couple of weeks after the Berlin Film Festival so he pretty much looked the same. In fact, he was wearing the same hat, coat and beard, lol. He was doing the layered shirt thing, wearing an olive green t-shirt with a khaki colored button down, long sleeved shirt over top with blue jeans (I think Levi's) and brown hiking type boots or really low winter boots, the type that's just above the ankles.