Mischa Barton - Celeb Encounter #2

I remembered, after posting the story about meeting Keira Knightley at the MTC, that I had unwittingly met another very poopular celebrity but had realized it!

This encounter took place in the Moab, UT when I ran the 1/2 Marathon with the Raintree roommates in the Summer of 2006. It was a blast! I can't believe I did it with ZERO training, whatsoever.

(Aside: Another boy in my ward was scheduled to run in the group and had to drop out the day before. Since I was going to go spectate anyway I thought to myself, "why watch when I could participate?" So I took the boy's ID and pretended that I was him.)

(Still Aside: The emotions of running a 1/2 marathon were priceless. I still recall the lingering memories of stretching out just before the race, drinking and peeing along the way and nearly collapsing at the end. There is nothing quite like the sensation of swarm of 5000, dedicated runners pushing ourselves as hard as we could towards a common goal. It was similar to singing "Called to Serve" in the MTC in the presence of a General Authority.)

Once the race was run, I enjoyed the festivities at the end: treats, music, massages and socializing. I enjoyed snapping pictures some of the most memorable people in attendance.

I got a shot with one poor dude who chaffed his "nips" so badly that blood marks ran all the way down his shirt.

I also got a shot of the guitar player from a touring bohemian rock band. I swear, he had not washed his hair in 5 years! His head gave off the distinct scent of sage and garbage. I got this shot of both him and his super cute girlfriend who didn't look like she wanted to be there at all. She kept hanging on his sweater like a 2-year-old until he finally agreed to take off.



~FLASH FORWARD TO THE YEAR 2007~

I'm working on my computer in the living room of my Monticello apt. when my roommate, Hunter, looks over and notice my screen saver pop up with the picture I just told you about. Hunter then gets this serious look on his face and says my name as if he were attempting to stop time with his tone of voice.

"How to you have a picture with Misha Barton?!"

"No, Hunter. That's a dude; he just has long hair. He's a musician," I assured him.

"No. That's Misha Barton from 'The OC' (a popular TV show about teenage drama in California)," Hunter insisted.

He showed me a picture of her on his own computer. Sure enough. Same girl. He showed me more pics to convince me.

(What was she doing with that ratty-looking rock star? I'll never understand celebs?!)




And that, my friends (and mostly family), is how I had my 2nd Celebrity encounter!