The Next Fifteen Minutes

Andy Warhol's "fifteen minutes of fame" is one of my favorite prophecies of all time. It's certainly a recurring theme these days, with all of the reality television clogging up the airwaves. The question for me is this: when it comes to our "fifteen minutes," what counts?

Now, I don't have any grand illusions of becoming the next Reese Witherspoon or Scarlett Johansson or anything of the sort. I don't really want to be famous like that; I'd like to continue my routine of dining in obscurity (although, did you know that you can "hire" paparazzi to follow you around? interesting concept). What I do strive for, however, is success with my writing. I'd love to land a contract with a publishing house and see my book in print. I guess you could say that achieving this dream would involve a certain amount of "fifteen minutes," even if my writing never makes it to the level of Marian Keyes or Lauren Weisberger.

I worry, however, that if Mr. Warhol's prophecy rings true, my "fifteen minutes" may already be up. On three occasions now, I have been interviewed by the local news. Once was in Washington, D.C., while I was lunching at Freedom Plaza (Channel 7 news asked me what I thought about the height restrictions on buildings in the city). The second, hilariously, was in London's Covent Garden (some morning show correspondent asked me if I was concerned about the salt content in pre-packaged foods - my reply: "I like salt. I have low blood pressure."). And finally, just yesterday, while sipping on a mocha light frappucino from the Riverwalk Starbucks, some San Antonio news channel asked me how seeing drunk drivers swerving on the highway "makes me feel" (this inspired me to wonder about this woman's journalism education - kind of a loaded question, don't you think? It's not like I was going to answer "Why, it makes me feel great! I'm all for it!" (although I did think about it, given the stupidity of the question)).

In any case, while I have yet to see any of my "interviews" on television (couldn't find the London program and believe my D.C. footage was left on the cutting room floor), a part of me worries that this is it for me. My "fifteen minutes" of cheap, localized fame.

Let's hope that's not the case.