I came for the peace rally and stayed for Sean Penn

Whew ... excuse the rather short entry, but I’ve had one hell of a day. I didn’t sleep a wink on Sunday night, and instead spent the majority of my night watching “Running with Scissors,” which I felt to be a truly horrendous film. I crawled out of bed at 5:45 and departed for Fort Lewis, a large military base here in Western Washington.

And why was I headed for Fort Lewis at 6:00 on a foggy Monday morning? Why, to lend my support at the court martial of Lt. Erhen Watada, the first US military officer to refuse deployment into Iraq. I won’t get into the politics, let’s just say that I agree with his position whole-heartedly and will stand by him to the end.

I spent my morning bracing against an icy wind, hoisting a colorful pro-Peace banner on an I-5 overpass. I was heading back to my car for my camera when I noticed movement out of the corner of my eye. A short, muscular man with wavy brown hair and mustache walked onto the overpass, hands stuffed nonchalantly into his jean pockets as he chewed absently on a wad of gum.

“Sean Penn!” I exclaimed.

“Yeah,” he said, looking past me to the crowd.

“Wow, hey, thanks for being here.”

I grasped his hand firmly in my own.

He smiled slightly, nodding. “My pleasure.” And then he was gone, disappearing into the crowd. He was devoid of any substantial entourage, so he blended in very easily.

Now, I’m not the biggest Sean Penn fan. I’ve been told he’s a bit of a pompous jerk. But my encounter with Mr. Penn was an enjoyable one, and I really did appreciate him being there without all the hullabaloo that typically surrounds celebrities attending public functions. He was in, he was out, he was hardly noticed.

And I shook his hand. Oh, it totally beats out the time I thought I saw Nick Nolte at Starbucks.