Andrew Heller

Best. Columnist. Ever.

  • About
  • More Posts …
    • More Posts …
    • Come Heller high water
    • The Heller Poll
    • Steve Jessmore photos
    • Auchtoons
  • Books
 

Surveyin’ da Situation: So this happened when Yooper John’s wife met McDreamy

February 16, 2019 by Andrew Heller 2 Comments

By John Matonich

My part of the world in the west end of the U.P. sure isn’t L.A., but every now and again we are visited by folks who could be considered celebrities. The curious reality about them coming here is many times they go unrecognized and pretty much travel around without being hounded for autographs or selfies.

I remember my brother (our current county sheriff) telling me many years ago while he was a deputy he was patrolling the east end of the county when he stopped in to a small Native American casino to check in with the tribal police. He said there was a little bit of activity as one of the folks sitting at a slot machine minding his own business was Ed McMahon. He had long since retired as Carson’s sidekick, but evidently was spending some time in Northern Wisconsin and the west end of the U.P. when he decided to stop in the casino and have a go. While many folks recognized him, they didn’t disturb his play and he simply went about his business.

In 2009, part of the movie “Public Enemy” was filmed just over the border in Northern Wisconsin at a lodge known as Little Bohemia. This was the actual lodge where John Dillinger and his gang had a shoot-out with the feds and escaped only to be gunned down coming out of a theater in Chicago a couple of months later. Johnny Depp was the star of the movie and stayed in a local resort while filming that part of the movie. He was interviewed by our local paper during his stay and commented how much he enjoyed being able to walk around town undisturbed and while some folks recognized him, most folks just thought he was one of the many tourists that frequent our area and not of any status.

I walked into one of the little taverns not too far from where we live the other day to say hello to my bride. She works there a couple of days a week and not only enjoys earning a few “pony pennies” as she calls them, but just likes the folks who frequent the place. Well, when I walked in I was greeted by a few locals enjoying an afternoon beverage. My bride came right over to me and showed me a picture on her phone. While the guy she was standing by seemed familiar, I really couldn’t think of who it was. No one else I was sitting with knew him either. To make a long story short, it was a picture of my bride standing next to Patrick Dempsey. He was staying locally with some of his friends and they were enjoying a few days of snowmobiling. They stopped in early in the day before starting a trip around the area. While I remember watching a couple of the movies he was in, I guess he is pretty well known for his role in “Grey’s Anatomy.” It’s a show I don’t believe I ever saw. Well, my bride sure did see it and she said he was a very nice customer and one of his friends offered to take their picture. She was pretty pumped to have the opportunity to meet him, but said other than the picture, she didn’t do anything more than to wait on his group and leave them to themselves to enjoy their time in town.

I had to smile when none of the folks I was sitting with did much more than shrug their shoulders and continue the discussion about the Super Bowl and what a low scoring game it turned out to be. I guess Grey’s Anatomy wasn’t a huge hit in Gogebic County. There would have been a bit more excitement if Aaron Rodgers walked in or a driver from the NASCAR circuit. Maybe our local chamber needs to do more to let celebrities know they can vacation here with very little fanfare and bother from the locals especially if they aren’t sports celebrities or TV show sidekicks.

And that’s the situation as I survey it …

After a 35-year career downstate livin’ amongst da trolls, during which he built a successful engineering and surveying business, John Matonich is back home in da U.P. His column will appear here occasionally, don’tcha know. His book “Surveyin’ Da Situation” is available on Amazon.com.

Image credit: YouTube capture

Filed Under: Guest columnists, John Matonich Tagged With: andrewheller.com, john matonich

Comments

  1. Tina says

    February 16, 2019 at 9:13 pm

    Oh wow, very cool! I would be pretty pumped to meet him & get a picture with him as well.

    Reply
    • John Matonich says

      February 17, 2019 at 10:10 am

      My bride was as well… I guess he was really nice

      Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Buy My Books!

Show_Cars_Illustrated_300x250-2018

 

Archives

  • March 2021
  • February 2021
  • January 2021
  • December 2020
  • October 2020
  • July 2020
  • June 2020
  • May 2020
  • April 2020
  • March 2020
  • February 2020
  • January 2020
  • December 2019
  • November 2019
  • October 2019
  • September 2019
  • August 2019
  • July 2019
  • June 2019
  • May 2019
  • April 2019
  • March 2019
  • February 2019
  • January 2019
  • December 2018
  • November 2018
  • October 2018
  • September 2018
  • August 2018
  • July 2018
  • June 2018
  • May 2018
  • April 2018
  • March 2018
  • February 2018
  • January 2018
  • December 2017
  • November 2017
  • October 2017
  • September 2017
  • August 2017
  • July 2017
  • June 2017
  • May 2017
  • April 2017
  • March 2017
  • February 2017
  • January 2017
  • December 2016
  • November 2016
  • October 2016
  • September 2016
  • August 2016
  • July 2016
  • June 2016
  • May 2016
  • April 2016
  • March 2016
  • February 2016
  • January 2016

Categories

  • All Columns
  • Auchtoons
  • Brenda Brissette Mata columns
  • Come Heller high water
  • Flint Columns
  • Guest columnists
  • Guns
  • Humor
  • John Matonich
  • Michigan politics and government
  • National politics
  • Steve Jessmore photos
  • Steve Murch
  • The Heller Poll
  • What do you think?

About The Author

Andrew Heller has been an enduringly popular newspaper columnist in Michigan for a long, long, long time. He wrote his first column for the Escanaba Daily Press way back in 1979. It was about his … Continue Reading

SOCIAL

  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn
  • Twitter

BOOK: Come-Heller-High-Water-by-Andrew-Heller ISBN-13:9780964983212

Come Heller High Water I is the collection readers asked for, and includes columns that they wanted reprints of.

In true Heller style, topics cover everything from the craziness of having kids to tales from his U.P. days.

Buy My Books!

BOOK: Come-Heller-High-Water 2-by-Andrew-Heller ISBN-13:9780964983212

Come Heller High Water II is the smash hit follow-up to Come Heller High Water I. It includes everything from Andy's takes on modern life to conversations with his back home pal Moon Dimple, and much, much more.
 

Buy My Books!

BOOK: Saving the World One Column at a Time Paperback  ISBN-10: 0971495114 ISBN-13: 978-0971495111

Saving the World One Column at a Time is a bitingly funny look at the world through the eyes of this award-winning columnist. In it he takes on corporate crooks, Little League parents, tongue piercers, ketchup sinners and much, much more. A must-have for Heller fans.

Buy My Books!

Copyright © 2025 · Andrew Heller · Best. Columnist. Ever.

Mobile Responsive Website by Media Cafe Online, LLC · Log in