April Winchell

I went back out into the world today.

I was a little nervous because I still have a lot of and black and blue blotches on my neck and under my chin. I was concerned that I might frighten a small child, or be asked to leave a public area.

Up until now I have been doing the scarf and sunglasses thing. But you know when you see someone my age with a Grandma scarf, they've had something hideously disfiguring done to them. And then you just stare harder.

I also thought it made me look Muslim. I passed a group of women in burqas the other day and I half expected to get high fives.

But today I had to go back to work. I'm doing a voice on the new "Lilo & Stitch" cartoon series, and I knew I couldn't show up looking like Jane Wyman in Magnificent Obsession. So I slathered myself in all the concealer I could find and powdered myself down to a professional finish.

As you can see, I look pretty good for having my head split open three weeks ago. At least, I look good from a distance. Up close I look like a drag queen trying to do Sharon Osbourne.

Anyway, as I was coming out of my session, I ran into one of my favorite people in the world, who is a vocal director for Disney. He said, "I want you to meet someone", and then he turned around and introduced me to George Carlin.

I can't explain the stupidity of what I did next, but sometimes I guess it's all about intention. I felt such affection for him, and such gratitude for all the laughter he'd given me, that I just blurted out, "May I hug you?" And he immediately said, "Sure". It was lovely.

The three of us spoke at length about a few things, and then it was time to go. I shook his hand and told him how much it meant to me to have met him. He was a very gracious.

As I turned to go to my car, he called out, "Stay cool".

I was so happy I immediately called my husband from my car. He wasn't at his desk, so I called my sister Amber. She wasn't home either, but I knew she would have her cell phone on. I called her up to tell her the story, and I could tell she was in her car.

"Where are you?" I asked her.

"We just left In-n-Out Burger on Lankershim," she said.

I looked up and she was two cars in front of me.