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WILKES-BARRE — She was so close, I could hear her breathe. I wanted to reach out and hug her, but I was afraid that might land me in jail overnight.

Susan Sarandon has always been one of my favorite people. I’ve watched her on the movie screen for years. She’s a Libra. Her birthday is two days before mine. She was Louise in “Thelma & Louise.” She was in the “Rocky Horror Picture Show,” “Dead Man Walking,” “The Client,” “Bull Durham” and many more movies.

The woman in charge of media relations for the Democratic National Convention had taken care of my credentials and provided me with everything I needed to cover the convention. She would not, however, honor one request — access to the seat next to Sarandon, a Bernie Sanders delegate, in the California Delegation.

But there she was, standing no more than two feet from me at a news conference she attended with fellow actor Danny Glover on behalf of an Ohio delegate who felt she had been censored about something. Ironically, I had met that Ohio woman the night before and wrote a story on her friend, a councilwoman from Akron.

Because of this quirky twist, I got to say hello to Susan. She smiled and returned the hello. We’re now dating.

Not really, but I’m pretty sure I can craft a few stories about her to my pals. By the way, she is gorgeous.

Susan and I actually never got closer than two feet. Our relationship went no further. Perhaps she saw my swollen ankles from all the walking around Philadelphia I had done?

During my four and a half days covering the Democratic National Convention, I met interesting people and saw dazzling stars perform. I was there to witness the acceptance speech of the first woman to be nominated by a major party to run for president in U.S. history — or should that be herstory?

I met John Matthews, a state senator from South Carolina, and asked him about issues important to people in his state. He told me the three “Es” — education, economy and environment.

I then asked Matthews what he thought about the split between the Sanders delegates and the rest of the Democratic party. He told me a poignant story that illustrated the situation perfectly.

He told me about his wife, who had passed away a year ago and how, in 54 years of marriage, they had many disagreements.

“But we never had any division,” he said. “The Democratic party must settle their disagreements, and it must never be divided.”

Perfect, I thought. What a great way to describe the situation. So I included that in a story I wrote.

The next night I got on the shuttle bus to the Wells Fargo Center and met a woman from South Carolina who works at a radio station in Hilton Head. I started telling her the story Matthews had told me about disagreements and division.

The woman interrupted me and finished the story. I said, “Oh, Sen. Matthews must have told you the same story.”

Turns out she was told the same story, but not by Matthews. U.S. Rep. Jim Clyburn, who happens to live near the state senator and is a friend of Matthews, apparently told the story to the South Carolina Delegation at breakfast.

I don’t know whose story it is, but it’s a good illustration of the situation within the Democratic Party.

When Managing Editor Dotty Martin asked me on the second day of the convention to look for the woman she saw on TV clutching a mini-Hillary doll, I thought she was kidding. When I realized she was serious, I thought she was nuts. There were 50,000 people in that arena, for crying out loud. For three days I searched and, believe it or not, I bumped into probably the only person with one of those dolls.

After some intense interrogation, I learned the doll had been purchased online.

Investigative journalism at its best.

O’Boyle
https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/web1_Oboyle_Bill-2-1-11.jpg.optimal.jpgO’Boyle

Sarandon
https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/web1_Susan-Sarandon-1.jpg.optimal.jpgSarandon Bill O’Boyle | Times Leader

By Bill O’Boyle

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Reach Bill O’Boyle at 570-991-6118 or on Twitter @TLBillOBoyle, or email at [email protected].