Being the typical Texans-in-summer that we are, Anya and I decided to take a nice, air-conditioned stroll around the mall today. As we walked towards the Gap, I noticed a grizzled, but familiar face walk by. I couldn't place the face for a second, but then it hit me that I was looking at none other than filmmaker, writer, and taste-maker, Judd Apatow. I didn't really believe that it was him until I saw his two kids, who he had put into his hit movie "Knocked Up."

After I had passed him, I called out to Anya, "Hey, that's Judd Apatow." We both looked and he kind of looked back. I wasn't sure if he heard us say his name or if he knew that we recognized him. Ironically enough, he was looking for the AMC movie theater in the mall.

As Anya and I finished out our day in the mall, I contemplated all of the things I would have said to him had we not had the decency to leave the man and his kids alone. Over the past couple of years, I have grown into a pretty big fan of his and have thoroughly enjoyed all of his movies. And before I even knew who he was, I was a big fan of the Ben Stiller Show, on which he was a producer and one of the head writers.

If he had been sans kids, I think Anya and I would have shook his hand and told him how much we enjoyed last summer's "Knocked Up." It was one of those movies that really came at the right time for us and seemed to be a fictionalized account of some of the things Anya and I were going through as we prepared for the arrival of our Sweet P.

Anywho, it was pretty neat. I think if I were famous, I'd prefer to be the level of Judd Apatow fame, where my fans would recognize me but no one else would.

What went from a normal day in the mall turned into a cool near-encounter with one of my favorite directors and writers.

- Matt