It is not an uncommon occurrence to see people who are famous in NYC. My original belief was that they all lived out in Hollywood and only came to NY to get a taste of real weather while they researched a role. Then I started to see photos of Sarah Jessica Parker walking her kids to school and Tom Hanks hogging seats on the subway, and I quickly realized that there is a higher celeb population in NY than I thought.

Over the last six years I’ve seen my fare share of celebrities, and even been knocked into by a couple (*Cough* Maggie Gyllenhaal *Cough*), but celebrity watching has never been a sport of mine. I have known people who’s only joy seem to come from the celebrities that they spotted on the street or at their work, and while at times I, admittedly, got caught up in the excitement, I eventually fell back into my general opinion that celebrities deserve their privacy and that I personally was no better if I happened to see one outside of a movie or TV screen. I am far more likely to stop a stranger on the street and tell them that I liked their jacket than I am to stop a celebrity and tell them I like their latest movie.

This past Saturday, however, I had a run-in with someone who I couldn’t help but say hello to.

Let me set the scene:

Saturday afternoon: I had just left the dentist, my oh so favorite place to go as you may know from my instagram, only in a semi amount of pain when I wandered down into the subway at Grand Central Station-42nd Street. Always the mad house (seriously, the MTA needs to get their act together on the 456 trains), I maneuvered my way halfway down the platform and found a nook on the side of a stair well to stand in. Looking up at the countdown clock, it said the next 4 train was going to be local. “Local?! What the hell.” The slight ache in my jaw wouldn’t tolerate the local downtown, but as the train pulled in, I noticed the train itself said “express”. My hopes were confirmed when the announcement came that the next stop would be 14th street. I jumped on.

As I stood in the door, a man standing in front of me motioned to an older lady with beautifully coiffed hair as to offer her a seat (although he was standing and the train was completely full). The woman smiled at him and waved her hand as to say “I’m fine” and that’s when I got a good look at her, locked eyes, and quickly, nervously and immediately turned away. I thoughts I recognized her immediately, but everyone in this city has a doppelganger running around.

After locking eyes with her twice, I decided that I had to say something to her so I leaned in and said with a nervous voice: “Excuse me, are you Ms. Windsor?”. “Yes”, she replied with a smile.

I was standing in front of the one and only Edie Windsor. The woman who single-handedly took on the United States Supreme Court and who’s fight ended the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) that stated that the government would only recognize marriages between a man and a woman. She herself had been a victim of discrimination when her wife, Thea Spyer, passed away and she was ordered to pay $363,053 in federal estate taxes on her inheritance of her wife’s estate, a fee she would not have to pay if Thea had instead been a man and the United States had recognized their marriage. Both New York residents, they had been married in Toronto in 2007 after a 40 years together.

Now, when it comes to US Weekly or InTouch magazine’s “standards”, Ms. Windsor is not your typical celebrity, but to me, she was the best kind of celebrity. The work that she had done would have the biggest impact a person could have on another person: a truly life changing one. She had made me a full citizen in the eyes of the United States Government and without her, my upcoming marriage, although legal in NY, would not be deemed “whole” or “real” in the eyes of the United States.

I mustered up the courage to continue, “I want to thank you for everything you have done for me, this country, and all of us who live here”. Her face lit up and she grabbed my hand and held it softly. “My fiance and I are getting married this May, and it wouldn’t have been the same if it wasn’t for you. Thank You.” “Oh I am so glad!” she exclaimed and she asked me my name. I told her and went on to tell her that Tommy and I had been asked by LOGO TV to be part of a thank you video that played at the LOGO awards this past December when her and her lawyer Roberta Kaplan were honored. “Send my best wished home to your family” she said, still holding my hand. The man who I thought was with her, slightly standing between us, turned out to be just another strap-hanger and looked curiously at us and our conversation. I realized that most people on the train probably had no idea who they were in the presence of. I felt like I should yell “Don’t you know who this is?!”, but instead I stood there, looking into her beautiful and kind eyes and holding her hand.

In the blink of an eye, we arrived at 14th street and I realized she was getting off. As the doors opened, I stepped off the train to make way for departing passengers (because it’s the considerate thing to do!) and as she stepped off the train, I held out my hand once more to help her off. I thanked her once again, she smiled and nodded, and disappeared into the crowd.

What were the chances that I got onto THAT train and THAT car? Not to mention my always prompt dentist had been 15min late in seeing me. I decided that it had been fate.

It’s not everyday you meet the woman who guaranteed your right to be treated like an equal citizen and not like second-class one and its those moments, and her specifically, that I will never forget.

Here is the portrait of Tommy and I from when we taped our video at City Hall for Ms. Windsor and Ms. Kaplan:

Live for fun, Spread Joy, Celebrate Love!

XO