Ten People I Would Like to Meet

First of all, I must give credit where credit is due. Fellow hubber, Mike Lickteig gave me the inspiration for this hub. He had published Ten Hollywood Celebrities I Want to Meet. I began to ponder which Hollywood celebrities I might like to meet someday and I couldn't necessarily come up with ten Hollywood celebrities but I could come up with ten people I would like to meet, some celebrities, some famous and some well-known in certain circles.

So far in my life, I've really only met a few well-known people, one of which is best-selling Christian Fiction author, Roxanne Henke, whom I met at a book signing at our local Barnes & Noble. She was very sweet and down-to-earth and took the time to give me advice for my own writing.

The following is a list of other famous people I would like to someday meet.

I am intrigued by one of the best-selling writers or our time, Nicholas Sparks. His first novel, The Notebook, granted him instant success. He was what you would call, an overnight sensation. Since his first novel, many of his books have become best-sellers, not only in this country but throughout the world. Several of his books have also become movies, including my favorite book of his, Dear John.

One of the things that intrigues me about him, besides his success, is that he claims he doesn't even enjoy writing. He does it because he's good at it and because it challenges him. A small part of me feels like I can relate. Sometimes I don't think I enjoy writing - I do it because I believe the Lord gave it to me as a gift and I like the aspect of getting information out to other people.

If you would like to know more about the person Nicholas Sparks is, I highly recommend his memoir, Three Weeks with My Brother. He talks about tragedies that have taken place in his family and also dealing with his special needs son whose care he took into his own hands when no one could diagnose him or help him.

I well remember the day John McCain announced his running mate for the 2008 Presidential Election. I was so excited when I heard the news. I couldn't wait to see her speech. I was not disappointed. There was something about her that seemed so real. Like she was one of us. And at the end of her speech when she talked about special needs parents having someone in Washington fighting on their behalf, I had tears in my eyes. That night, the world had been introduced to Sarah Palin. And that world either loved her or hated her.

Personally, I think has been one of the most mistreated people in politics, especially by feminists, liberal media and the entertainment industry. Yes, some of the Tina Fey stuff was funny but the things David Lettermen said about her and her family were not. I was really mystified when the feminists came out swinging at her, afterall, Sarah Palin is a mom, a wife, a governor, she is the epitome of what the feminits think every woman should be. But the reason they hate her? Most likely because she is pro-life.

Sarah Palin is someone who stands by her principles, is not afraid to speak the truth and doggone it, just seems like a darn good woman. And that's why I'd like to meet her.

One reason I would like to meet Melissa Sue Anderson (Mary on Little House on the Prairie) and not her on-screen sister, Melissa Gilbert is to find out what it was like on the set with Melissa Gilbert. And also to find out what she thought of "America's Sweetheart" getting all of the attention. Of course, little Laura Ingalls was supposed to be the star of the show but what about her older, prettier, smarter sister, Mary?

Personally, I thought Melissa Sue Anderson was one of the best actresses on the show. Especially when she went blind and had to play a blind person. In fact, throughout the whole Little House on the Prairie series, she was the only one to receive an Emmy nomination. She was nominated for her role in one of the most watched episodes of Little House called "I'll Be Waving as You Drive Away." Twenty years after it aired, it was selected by TV Guide as one of the top 100 television episodes of all time.

Since getting married and having children in 1990, Melissa Sue Anderson has done little acting which is another reason I would like to meet her, for putting her family first.

You may not know who she is, but she is one of the most influential people in ministry to those with disabilities. At seventeen years old, a diving accident left Joni a quadriplegic. After getting over the bitterness and resentment, she reached out to God and now at the age of sixty she is known for founding several successful ministries helping the disabled community. Some of these ministries include Wheels for the World  in which she and her team go to impoverished countries and provide wheelchairs for disabled people. She also hosts several family retreats each summer across the country where families who have a member with a disability can relax and have fun and leave feeling restored and refreshed.

She has both a radio program and a televisoin program called Joni and Friends. She has been interviewed by Larry King, has written several books,produced several cd's and most amazingly she does beautiful paintings by putting the paintbrush between her teeth. She truly is an amazing and inspiring woman who I would someday like to meet.

Here's another one that you either love or you hate. Personally, I feel he is one of the best presidents our nation has ever had. The main reason I would like to meet him is to simply shake his hand and tell him Thank You for all he has done. I would especially like to thank him for the stance he took on not using taxpayers money to fund embryonic stem cell research, especially when it was not popular for him to do so. I would also like to thank him personally for keeping us safe from Islamic Terrorists after the attacks on 911 and for not being afraid to call it what it was, which our current president seems afraid to do.

Yes of course I know he made mistakes, which president hasn't? And I know that everyone involved in today's presidential administration likes to blame him for everything that is going wrong but I for one am thankful for the eight years he was the leader and commander in chief of this country.

She's beautiful, smart, a mom, a wife, and she is able to put up with Joy Behar. (How she put up with Rosie O'Donell is beyond me). Although she claims to be independent, Elisabeth Hasselbeck often offers the conservative point of view on the show, The View. She has often defended President George W. Bush and the war on terror and is open about her respect for life and that she believes life begins at conception. To me, she is someone who has courage, strength, inner beauty and is not just tough mentally but physically as well. She proved this by placing fourth on Survivor: The Australian Outback in 2001. Although I am not a fan of the show, Survivor, I am a fan of Elisabeth Hasselbeck and would consider it an honor to meet her one day.

Steve Arterburn is the founder of New Life Live!, a radio program that helps Christians deal with some of the issues they are going through. The show has licensed counselors who give advice to each caller. This radio show introduced me to the world of Christian Counseling, something I had never heard of before. While working at a company where I sat in my cube all day looking at a computer monitor, this program became my lifeline. I was going through some very difficult things at this time in my life and the radio program let me know that there were other Christians struggling with some of the same issues. It helped me feel like I wasn't alone.

Besides founding New Life Live!, Steve Arterburn has also written and co-written several books and has also produced several audio Cd's. I like Steve Arterburn because of his transparency, honesty and for being able to speak the truth in love.

Judge Judy (Judy Sheindlin) doesn't put up with nonsense and if she thinks someone is lying she'll say something like, "if something doesn't make sense, it's usually not true." Judge Judy is also one of the few reality courtroom judges that doesn't allow anyone to interrupt her and she doesn't tolerate talking out of turn.

Some say she is rude and I have cringed when I've seen her tell people they are stupid. Some of the people that enter her courtroom have low enough self esteem and I don't agree with her doing that. At the same time however, she is truthful. She has been criticized by Judge Wapner, from The People's Court, the first reality court show. He has said, "She is not portraying a judge as I view a judge should act. She;s insulting in capital letters."

No matter how much criticism she receives, I still like her and I think she is fair and just in her rulings and to me, that's what's most important.

The reason I'd like to meet this superstar is that even though she is so famous, and has been since her childhood, she just seems so down-to-earth. I recently read an interview about her being a mother and she said when she is with her kids, she wants to be all there for them, she has her cell phone off and doesn't allow any interruptions when she is spending time with them. I love that because so often I see moms with their kids and they spend the whole time either texting or talking on their phone, not paying any attention at all to their kids.

Brooke Shields has no doubt had an interesting life living with her controlling, alcohilc mother who served as her agent and cast her in sexually explicit roles when Brooke was just a teenager. She was also married to tennis star Andre Aggassi and has been a model and a television star as well. In her book, Down Came the Rain,which deals with her bout of postpartum depression, she was very transparent about what she went through. She has also tried her hand at writing children's books as well.

Although super famous, she seems super approachable and I'd be curious to know if she is indeed really like that.

Lindell Cooley was the music minister of Brownsville Assembly of God in Pensacola, Florida for ten years. In 1999, I lived in North Carolina and began listening to Lindell Cooley's music. I often thought about driving down to Florida to attend the church where he was the worship leader. Today, I regret that I never did that when I had a chance.

Lindell Cooley's music really touches my heart and to be in the same room with him leading worship would be awe-inspiring. He was one of the music leaders present during the Brownsville Revival which took place when a great outpouring of the Holy Spirit came upon Brownsville Assembly of God. During the time of this Revival, over 3 million people attended this church and nearly 200,000 people gave their lives to Jesus. Lindell Cooley is now a pastor at Grace Church in his hometown of Memphis, Tennessee.