Lance Around Orlando

Olga (O.J.) Gets an Unexpected Hug and Kiss From Cary Elwes

[Editor’s Note:  Don’t miss the short video at the end of this post. It will make you smile! Part of the fun of the FFF is sharing the experience with your loved ones. Mrs. LanceAround and I love the movie, The Princess Bride. So when we heard that Cary Elwes, the star of the movie, was coming to the FFF on Sunday for a special 25th anniversary showing and brunch, we purchased tickets for everyone who works for us in our vacation rental home business (which turned out to be a lot harder than it sounds. You can read about it here.) It also happened to be O.J.’s birthday. We knew things in her life have been pretty rough lately, so I hatched a little scheme to make this birthday a memorable one. But here, let’s allow O.J. to tell it in her own words…]

It was my birthday–and these past few weeks have been filled with many ups and downs.

An Awkward Hug

So nothing could have prepared me for the awesome experience I had this weekend.  As a birthday gift, LanceAround and Mrs. LanceAround who own Florida Dream Homes (where I work)  gave me a ticket to have brunch with Cary Elwes at the Florida Film Festival.  It was my first time at the Enzian Theatre, and, of course,  the FFF.  I didn’t know what to expect.  There were a lot of people waiting in line to enter the theatre (as there should be considering that all the tickets to this show were sold out in under 30 minutes.) We got great seats with a good view of the stage and screen.

My favorite movie growing up was The Princess Bride.  If I  think of what true love should be it would be like what Westley and Buttercup had. I was nine years old when the movie came out and first saw it on VHS so seeing it on a bigger screen was really nice.  Funny, how I felt like I was a part of history in some way. It was also the 25^th anniversary of the movie. I remember telling SunnyStefani that it felt funny to watch the movie with so many adults in a room.  It’s a movie I grew up watching and now pass on to my children. During the movie we got to order brunch. I had French Toast which was really good.

After the movie, Cary finally came out and took a seat on the stage to speak about his journey and to take questions from the audience. As one of the official bloggers for the FFF, LanceAround always asks a question.

I don’t remember what LanceAround was asking, I just remember hearing him say my name, “Olga.”

I was in shock and not sure what he was going to say next.  I couldn’t believe my ears when I heard him tell Cary Elwes that, for my birthday, all I wanted was a hug from Cary.

My Main Squeeze

Cary’s response blew me away. He said, “Yea, it’s on, where is she?”

He got up from his chair in the middle of his Q & A session and started to walk towards where I was sitting in the audience. I was fighting with myself trying not to cry. I felt like I was going to faint. I got up, as nervous as I was, and walked towards him. I was trying to not keep my face covered, because I wanted to see where I was going so I didn’t fall on my face. Everybody in the auditorium was clapping.

Then, right there in front of me, Cary was standing with his arms wide open. It was the best hug ever. All I could hear was Cary wishing me a happy birthday. I kept saying, “Thank you, you are so cute.” Then he laid a nice big kiss on my left cheek and gave me another hug.  He also said “How about a picture?” It seemed like everyone in the auditorium was taking our picture. After all the flashes he shouted, “Let’s hear it for Olga!” and everyone was clapping for me. I wanted to die of happiness.

That was a moment and memory I will cherish for the rest of my life. That brief moment of happiness made up for all the ups and downs I’ve been having. Good things truly come to those who deserve it.  As Cary sat back down, I heard the moderator on the stage say, “A lot people are going to be jealous of Olga today.”

After the show Cary was signing autographs and taking pictures with all his fans. Of course, I was in line so he could sign my ticket to the show.  He greeted me with a warm smile, gave me ANOTHER hug, posed for more pictures and signed my ticket:

“To Olga, As you wish on your birthday.”

O.J., SunnyStefani, & NumberOneEmber with Cary

I have a younger brother who also grew up watching The Princess  Bride with me. When I told my brother that I was going to have brunch with Cary Elwes, he made me promise to say “As you wish” to him. So after Cary signed my ticket I told him of my promise and said it just like he did in the movie when he was pushed down the canyon by Buttercup. Cary was happy with it, thanked me, gave me his hand and said goodbye.  I must say Cary is as beautiful in person as he is on the screen. I was left on cloud nine for the rest of the day.

Best birthday ever!

And here’s a video of the whole thing:

This entry was posted on April 29, 2013 at 10:15 am and is filed under Art Community. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.