we were driven to the private airstrip and took off for Los Angeles. 0n
the plane was an unexpected visitor. Matt Groening the producer of the
?The Simpson?s? TV show was catching a ride with us. I was so excited,
as I loved watching his show and acted like a star struck fan, asking him
everything from his initial idea for creating the show to where he got his
characters from. He told me it was all based on his own family make up,
but without the crazy father and son scenes of Homers hand around Bart?s
throat.
I was enjoying our conversation, when Jeffrey insisted that I give Matt
a foot massage throughout the duration of the short ?ight. I never turned
down a client but when I saw the shape ofhis feet, I nearly threw up at
the thought of having to touch them. He had yellow crusty toenails that
even someone with a chainsaw would?ve had troubles cutting through
and then there was the ?uffy balls of leftover pieces of sock wedged
between the crevices of his sweaty toes, now that was the real icing on
the cake for me, no way could I attempt this I thought. Then I had an
idea. I went to the back of the plane and rinsed a wash cloth in warm
soapy water and returned for his dreaded foot massage but not before
attempting to clean them first.
In return for my services Matt was kind enough to draw me two quick
sketches on blank paper from his briefcase of my two favorite characters,
Homer and Bart. I asked if he wouid make them out to my little brother
and dad, the true fans of the family not missing an episode during dinner
over the past ten years or so. Next to the A-4 size drawing he was able to
fit in the quote ?To my greatest fan from Matt Groening? and their names
next to it. I knew they?d absolutely love it, and it was such a nice gesture
his feet were no longer an issue as I laughed it off and even made a joke
to the comedian about getting a pedicure before hitting beaches.
The fight was only short and we arrived in busy L.A within the hour,
saying Good-Bye to Matt, who was a pleasure to meet. Jeffrey had a
meeting at a production studio for one ofthe girls he was keeping lured in
his grasps, so we were off yet again for more business. We were staying
with one of his old girlfriends, Jeffrey?s code for ?She got to old for my
taste, but was still nice enough to keep around?. She was a tall blonde
with blue eyes, a stereotypical Barbie doll. In her younger years she had
been a successful model and now lived on the beaches of Santa Monica
with a sweeping view of the oceans landscape as her backyard.