Was The Juice Worth The Squeeze?

I had to take a break from my usual, to report the following experience. I think you will see how this all works together. 

When my wife is home with the kids, she sometimes likes to keep the television on for some background noise.  We are very conscious about what television programming our children see since so much of the content is filled with innuendos, violence, and material that does not conform to our religious views.  That being said, our old fall-back is usually the Food Network.  The shows are family friendly, their commercials are not inappropriate and the bonus... we both love the Food Network.  Since my daughter was old enough to pay attention to the television, she has loved one of the network's personalities; Giada De Laurentiis.  She asks to watch her, wants to cook like her, and reminds us every day that Giada (or Giwada, as my daughter calls her) is on.  A few weeks ago, my wife tells me that Giada is going to be over at a Costco near us signing copies of her new book and we should take our daughter.  I agree and immediately start to envision my daughter being so excited to meet Giada in real life and then my daughter being so disappointed by the rushed and hastened process that is the usual book signing event.  I jokingly tell my wife that if everyone in the world thought of "celebrities" as I do, there would be no celebrities.  Generally, I don't care about famous people.  My wife will tell you that my old saying is "why should we care, do you think they care about you?".  So now, I think that I have adequately set the stage for the trip to pay tribute to some TV personality.      

 Yesterday, my wife and I trek to Costco with our kids, buy the new cookbook, and get into the line of about 100 people with camera in hand.  As I look around and observe the "Costco advance team" scrambling to set up an area in a Costco store for the grand arrival, I am reminded of the time I had the privilege of meeting President Bush #1, and my contempt for the "celebrity" appearance grows.  Finally, the line starts to move and it is our turn.  Book, proof of purchase, camera, and child in hand we make our way to the greeting area.  What follows is truly remarkable.  My daughter starts to scurry towards her favorite TV chef, and I watch Giada's whole personality change.  She switches off the factory book signing routine and turns into a real person.  She leans over her desk and starts to engage my daughter.  Her face lights up and her voice changed to the higher-pitched kid voice that all moms possess.  She spoke with my daughter for a minute or two as the line stopped moving, she showed her a picture of her own daughter who is similar in age to mine and she suggested a recipe for some pasta for my daughter to "cook with her Daddy".  This was the best $19.99 plus tax and two hours I have ever spent. 

So much of what we consume, whether it be food, media, or some type of durable goods are FAKE.  Big companies know that we want to buy into the "genuine" so they sell us their ideas about what is and what isn't.  This is nothing more than reengineered reality. Part of the reason I am writing is to chronicle my own efforts to weed out this "FAKE-NESS" in my household.  

My daughter met Giada De Laurentiis yesterday for three minutes.  I'm not claiming to know this woman like family, but I know how she treated my daughter.  She is the real deal and her show will continue to be on in my house.  I appreciate seeing that she isn't just an engineered personality!