When the
Baby Girls and I get together, we always make sure to spend some time on practicing our maneuvers for outwitting paparazzi – and time well spent! The Baby Girls, or as some are beginning to call them, the Super Sisters, have outgrown the confines of Syracuse and have quickly begun the road to becoming legends in their own time, in places far and wide, in our global world.
Not surprising. As I mentioned earlier,
Cecelia’s last – ultimate – ballet recital was standing room only. Cecelia not only excels on scooter and bicycle, but also is a champion swimmer at her young age. Water ballet, high dives, back stroke; she does them all so well that Michael Phillips has already noted that he is grateful that Olympic swimming is not a coed competition! To think she is only 9 years old!
Olivia’s prowess at soccer is a phenomenon rarely seen on the playing fields. Although only 8 years old, she is being compared to Mia Hamm, Zinedine Zidane, Julie Foudy, even Pele! Olivia is noted for her excellence not only in sports, but further, in the fine arts. From an early age, she has shown shades of brilliance in her colorful and exotic artwork. She works in crayon and markers on newsprint – not a common medium, which sets her work even further apart from the more banal post-modern world. Just as the child Mozart showed evidence of his creativity on piano and violin, Olivia has already revealed her prodigious abilities in piano playing and singing.
Together, the Baby Girls combine the best of their talents. If you have ever had the privilege to see one of their shows, you know of what I speak! Their most recent foray onto the stage of musical comedy was an original interpretation of
“Thing One & Thing Two.” They did set design and costuming as well. It was a delightful and light-hearted; “a clumsy, hilarious, funny show.” They donated all of the proceeds to the literacy program at their city library.
It is understandable that the popularity and fame of the Baby Girls is growing hourly. When we realized this, it was clear that such popularity and fame would include cover stories in
People, USA Today,
O magazine, appearances on Oprah, the Daily Show, The View, and of course – the paparazzi! That odious subspecies preying on the rich and famous. Always on the lookout for “Stars and Idols.” Cameras loaded and waiting. They make life miserable on a 24-7 basis. In an effort to avoid their noxious ubiquity, stars go to unbelievable lengths to avoid them, to find some private moments in a now-public life.
Knowing that this was soon to be their fate as well, the Baby Girls began to practice avoidance maneuvers at Target. What better place to begin, as the paparazzi already knew that Target is where everyone who is anyone shops! So we drive to a Target and park the car, an unobtrusive navy blue sedan. We altered where we parked on each trial run to see if there was a spot more advantageous for slipping in and out of the store unobserved. Then we assume a pose, hurried, slumped, huddled, together, or apart, varying the pose as well to see if one worked better than the other did. It was such a drag to have to dress down to go to Target. But without a doubt, any of the Baby Girls normal chic, avant garde wear was sure to attract immediate attention. In and out of Target we would go, ever vigilant for any suspicious characters paying more than usual attention to us. Pointing fingers, looks that lasted longer than 3 seconds, looks with giggles, faced wrapped in astonishment, all were clues that time was running out - FAST!
This was becoming a part of life now for the Baby Girls – the practice of avoiding the paparazzi. The Baby Girls extended their maneuvers to locations such as Cheeburger Cheeburger, Nordstrom’s, Barnes & Noble, Costco, Denny’s, and on and on and on.
One day at a local restaurant, it occured to us we had neglected to go into one of our camouflage routines! We quickly scanned the restaurant and then lowered our heads whispering about strategy. It was at that point that the Baby Girls’ father, Michael, asked us what we were doing. Cecelia gave him an exasperated look and said, “We are hiding from the paparazzi,” implying with every word that he had committed an egregious error even asking such a question. Michael had a puzzled look on his face, not knowing what to do next. Then, Olivia, out of nowhere, looked at her father and asked,
“What are paparazzi anyway?”
