And he gave me a Super Squeeze! My heartbeat has returned to normal since this happened yesterday, so maybe I can tell the story in a comprehensible manner.
OK. Everyone knows that Morgan Freeman is an amazing actor with a velvet voice I could listen to all day. Mike and I have also always respected his character and the stands he takes. He’s just always seemed to be one of the really good guys. So for about a year, Mike and I have talked about, once settled back here, going to Ground Zero.
As part of his down-to-earth nature, Morgan (I can call him that now) maintains a home in the small town of Charleston, MS and co-owns a blues club – Ground Zero – in nearby Clarksdale. C’dale IS ground zero for the Delta blues. It is the location of the legendary (mythical?) crossroads. I’ll tell you about the crossroads in another blog. Rumor had it that when Morgan was in town, he’d drop into Ground Zero just like regular folks and have a good time, visit with folks and dance with all the ladies.
Our plan was to drive down one day for lunch, make sure we knew how to get there for a subsequent evening visit, and inquire about when anyone might expect Mr. Freeman to be in town. We arrived later than we’d planned and had a great lunch. I had a catfish sandwich with a side of fried green tomatoes. Ahh, the South. As Mike was paying the bill, he asked if Morgan might be coming down. Completely casual, the waitress said he’d probably be there about 5:30. Omigod. It was already 4 p.m. We were going to get to see him!
We went next door and visited the Delta Blues Museum to kill some time, then went back to the club, ordered beers, and Mike kept checking out the door. When he said, “there’s Morgan,” I thought he was teasing, but then I heard the unmistakable voice.
We meandered closer to where he was chatting with people and stood next to the bar. And then he walked straight over to us and stopped in front of me. Never at a loss for something witty and intelligent to say, I blurted out “It’s really you!!” To which he replied with a chuckle, “No, it’s really YOU.” And Mike chimed in, “gee, you never thought you’d run into Diane here, did you?” I introduced us to him. We chatted a minute, and Mike asked if he could take a photo. That’s when Morgan put his arms around me. I can die a happy woman, and my understanding husband’s not even mad at me.
Mr. Freeman was absolutely not doing The Star thing. Just a really nice man. When he moved over to the photo shoot he was there to do, he called us by our names – an impressive quality. And he acknowledged us (okay, he rubbed my shoulder) as he later moved to another photo location they’d set up in the club. So tomorrow night, we’re picking up a couple of his movies that we haven’t seen and we’re having a Morgan Freeman film fest.
AND – if you come to visit us, we’ll put Ground Zero on the tour schedule. Check it out at their web site.
http://www.groundzerobluesclub.com/home.php
p.s. I should explain why Morgan maintains a home and businesses down there. He was born in Memphis and spent many of his early years in Charleston.
OK. Everyone knows that Morgan Freeman is an amazing actor with a velvet voice I could listen to all day. Mike and I have also always respected his character and the stands he takes. He’s just always seemed to be one of the really good guys. So for about a year, Mike and I have talked about, once settled back here, going to Ground Zero.
As part of his down-to-earth nature, Morgan (I can call him that now) maintains a home in the small town of Charleston, MS and co-owns a blues club – Ground Zero – in nearby Clarksdale. C’dale IS ground zero for the Delta blues. It is the location of the legendary (mythical?) crossroads. I’ll tell you about the crossroads in another blog. Rumor had it that when Morgan was in town, he’d drop into Ground Zero just like regular folks and have a good time, visit with folks and dance with all the ladies.
Our plan was to drive down one day for lunch, make sure we knew how to get there for a subsequent evening visit, and inquire about when anyone might expect Mr. Freeman to be in town. We arrived later than we’d planned and had a great lunch. I had a catfish sandwich with a side of fried green tomatoes. Ahh, the South. As Mike was paying the bill, he asked if Morgan might be coming down. Completely casual, the waitress said he’d probably be there about 5:30. Omigod. It was already 4 p.m. We were going to get to see him!
We went next door and visited the Delta Blues Museum to kill some time, then went back to the club, ordered beers, and Mike kept checking out the door. When he said, “there’s Morgan,” I thought he was teasing, but then I heard the unmistakable voice.
We meandered closer to where he was chatting with people and stood next to the bar. And then he walked straight over to us and stopped in front of me. Never at a loss for something witty and intelligent to say, I blurted out “It’s really you!!” To which he replied with a chuckle, “No, it’s really YOU.” And Mike chimed in, “gee, you never thought you’d run into Diane here, did you?” I introduced us to him. We chatted a minute, and Mike asked if he could take a photo. That’s when Morgan put his arms around me. I can die a happy woman, and my understanding husband’s not even mad at me.
Mr. Freeman was absolutely not doing The Star thing. Just a really nice man. When he moved over to the photo shoot he was there to do, he called us by our names – an impressive quality. And he acknowledged us (okay, he rubbed my shoulder) as he later moved to another photo location they’d set up in the club. So tomorrow night, we’re picking up a couple of his movies that we haven’t seen and we’re having a Morgan Freeman film fest.
AND – if you come to visit us, we’ll put Ground Zero on the tour schedule. Check it out at their web site.
http://www.groundzerobluesclub.com/home.php
p.s. I should explain why Morgan maintains a home and businesses down there. He was born in Memphis and spent many of his early years in Charleston.
1 comment:
Wow! This is a terrific picture. Clearly not one of those "Oh, here's another fan wanting a picture with me". After you called that day to share the moment, I ran around and told as many people as I could. We all felt like we sort of met him too, through you that is.
Love the blog. It's very entertaining to read.
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