Melissa McCarthy Hug!

Since Thanksgiving is a time to be thankful and kind, I was thinking of people I've met and stories I've heard that have inspired me lately. In light of the Stephen Collins and Bill Cosby scandals and other difficult news as of late, I've been extra happy when I do read about feel-good stories and celebrities who do good and kind things, such as the Tom Hanks/cab driver story that was floating around a few weeks back.

So I'm planning to start a new feature called "CELEB-rating Kindness", in which you can dedicate hugs to celebrities who continue to inspire me to be a kinder, better person. If you have your own celebrity encounter of kindness, or would like to dedicate a hug to a celebrity who has inspired you through acts of do-goodness, please do let me know and I would be more than happy to draw and share your experience.

My first Celebrity "Do-Gooder" I would like to highlight is Melissa McCarthy. She's on my mind a lot these days because I am in the middle of binge-watching the entire series of Gilmore Girls (which I had no idea she was on before I began watching it on Netflix). I had the pleasure of meeting her once, but my parents got to encounter her another couple of times. For those who are in L.A. and are lucky enough to catch a taping of the show Mike & Molly, the entire cast (except for Swoosie Kurtz) stays after the show to meet and greet EVERY...SINGLE...fan who attends the taping. I mean, the whole cast is insanely kind and nice. The reason why I chose to just draw Melissa here, is because when I met her, she had just come off an Emmy win, and was also nominated for an Oscar for her part in Bridesmaids. However, she seemed like such an incredible, kind, genuine person, who was truly thankful to meet every fan. When we thanked her for being so kind and taking the time to meet us, she responded, "Without my fans, I'm nothing."

My parents went to two other tapings of Mike & Molly. One of them was on Halloween, and Melissa came out to address the audience directly and apologize profusely that she couldn't stay to sign autographs as she normally does because she has to take her kids Trick or Treating. The third taping was best of all. My parents went with some close family-friends, one of which was my 21-year old former-bridesmaid who I love like a sister and who had just had undergone a life-saving heart transplant about 4 months prior. My dad went over to Melissa and specifically asked her to meet her and give her an autograph because of her transplant. Melissa responded, "I sign for EVERYONE here, but point her out to me and I'll go now." My dad did, and Melissa took the time to meet my friend and leave her her with the newly-Sharpied message, "I <3 you. Melissa McCarthy. --Get it?" =0)

Celebrities don't have to be kind. They will have followers and fans who love them based on their works and whatever they read in the tabloids. However, when you truly get to meet someone who you look up to and it only continues to inspire you more, that needs to make headlines more than all the scandals and sad headlines that swallow up the news. So I will try to make a conscious effort to put more of THOSE kinds of stories back into the world. Are you with me?