Amy Poehler was on hand last night at Bette Midler’s New York Restoration Project’s 13th Annual Spring Picnic, where she gave a laudatory speech about the organization’s work and joked that she is often mistaken for an actual park employee. “More than once when I’ve been hiking or walking in a green area, people have asked me where to go, or what are the indigenous plants, or how do they deal with their raccoon infestations,†she said. She also had some kind words for Midler herself.
So I first met Bette Midler in my head when I watched the film The Rose in 1979. And since then, her and I have been best friends, in my head. In my head, she and I travel together, we have cut an album, and we pranked George Clooney. She’s the godmother to the children of mine that she has never met, and once, Bette turned to me in a dream and said, “Amy, you are the most talented person I’ve ever met. I hate to say this, this kills me, but you’re more talented than me. God bless you and I release you to God,†and then she turned into a million doves and flew away.
What’s strange is how many of us have this exact dream, except it’s Poehler who’s the godmother/supporter/person who releases us to God.