Exit Bas, Enter George

This is a question for the ladies: Let's say the love of your life has left this morning for a trip to, oh let's say Kenya. How will you spend your first solo evening? You could see some friends, have some laughs, maybe meet George Clooney?

If you're me and if your beloved's departure happens to coincide with the 4th Dubai International Film Festival, that's exactly what you do.

Last Sunday I headed down to Madinat Jumeirah with my friends Shirlee and Nelda to do a little stargazing. It was opening night and while we didn't have tickets to the big gala the organizers had created a little peanut gallery for people just like us. The stars were all set to arrive around 8, so we showed up around 5:30 because we expected hordes and hordes of people. Happily, not so many folks were there (I think at the peak there were maybe 50 but that might be pushing it) and because there was no way Shirlee was going to give an inch of our front-row spot we had the perfect viewing area of the red carpet.

Remember, of course, that this is the Middle East. So in addition to George Clooney (the biggest name of the night) there were a number of Arabic and Indian performers who caused a great deal of commotion when they arrived. Who knew that Egypt had a vibrant cinematic tradition? Turns out that they do and wow, are they popular. Lebanese television stars and Bollywood actresses rounded out the hysteria.

For those of us with easily impressed with Western-style entertainment there were some other fun surprises. The first was a guy named Steve, who is apparently on the sitcom "Reba." Now, Reba plays here on the sitcom channel (yes, such a thing exists) but it could have been cancelled 10 years ago because they also play re-runs of "Blossom" on a regular basis so we're really none the wiser. Anyway, Steve got out of the limo and the ladies next to us freaked out.

Next cause for screaming (and this is actually pretty fun) was Paulo Coelho. Anyone who survived the 1995 version of High Road at Wheaton College will remember the book The Alchemist. His latest novel is The Witch of Portobello and since part of it takes happens in Dubai he has a special place in everyone's hearts. After speaking to a few journalists, Mr. Coelho came straight over to our section and shook hands with all of us. He was even kind enough to pose for a picture with me! Lit major that I am, I was tickled.

Now, there were a few ladies who graced the red carpet as well, but they didn't come near the peanut gallery. Sharon Stone was the host of an AIDS benefit and Gloria Estefan (minus the Miami Sound Machine) is giving a concert tonight. Sharon Stone waved at us from afar but I don't think Gloria Estefan even looked in our direction.

But none of that matters, really, because when George Clooney, his girlfriend and his entourage arrived all bets were off. Shrieking, yelling and jumping, the place just erupted. I forgot to mention that the festival organizers created two fan spaces: one for beautiful people and one for the rest of us. The beautiful people got to greet the stars first, and that's where George started. He came over to our space briefly, promised to be back, and then headed to the press area.

While I was a journalist in my past life, the flower industry doesn't exactly do red carpet events. I also wore suits when conducting interviews. Apparently this is a close-minded approach to reporting news in these parts because I have never seen so many sparkles, such deep cleavage and so much make-up in such a confined space. I'm sure there were male reporters as well but you really didn't see them because it was easy to be blinded by all of the bright colors.

Finally, after surviving one section of the press area George turned back to us little people. He was actually being led away from us but broke away from his group to come say hi. Not to burst any bubbles here, but he's much shorter than I imagined. Still handsome, though. And just plain old nice. He shook everyone's hand and as he did so looked us each in the eyes. He shook Shirlee's hand, she said something. He shook my hand, I said, "Nice to meet you!" and he shook Nelda's hand and she said something. I guess he hadn't expected to meet three Americans right in a row, because he stopped, looked at us and said, "Wow, there are a lot of expats here!" We all smiled and giggled. And then kept taking pictures.

So there you have it. Our brush with greatness. Since Sunday we have all three been verbally abused by everyone here who didn't attend, but we are strong. And believe me, it was worth it!