My breakfast with Tom Green

I have never been starstruck in my life — until this morning. What scares me is that I didn't think it were possible for me to be starstruck, but it happened when Dina and I had breakfast next to Tom Green and his girlfriend at Du-Par's in Studio City.

"Psst, look who's next to us," I said to Dina, a moment after we sat down.

Dina nonchalantly looked over and obviously knew who it was. She acted normally, but I clammed up, not knowing what to do. I opted to do absolutely nothing because I thought that would be the coolest move.

I must state that during my life as a journalist, I have met a boatload of celebrities, and some big names, including George Lucas, William Shatner, LeBron James, Kobe Bryant, Shaquille O'Neal, actually pretty much any basketball-related celebrity and the list goes on. I have never acted differently around any of them ad never had my heartbeat change in any of their presences. So why in the world did my heart skip a beat around Tom Green?

One factor is that it was a surprise to be going about my normal life and, bam, be right next to the guy. Another factor is that I am not into celebrity culture, but I do legitimately like how Tom Green has grown, going from goofy-ass comedian to thoughtful talk-show host.

What must be understood is that during the past year I have only watched three shows regularly: 1) "Top Chef", 2) "Tom Green Live" on AXS TV and 3) "Norm MacDonald Live" on YouTube.

Because Top Chef is a pop culture staple, I don't think I'd have any trouble running into Tom Colicchio, Padma Lakshmi or any of the Top Chef crew. For reasons I can't totally explain, I wouldn't be starstruck by them.

In my world, based on time spent watching them, my top two celebrities are Tom Green and Norm MacDonald.

Typically, Dina and I are the most attractive couple in any room. At Du-Par's, we still held that post. Tom Green's girlfriend was attractive, but Dina edged her out. I beat Tom Green, although he surprised me by his height. Usually, celebrities are extremely short. But Tom is listed as 6-foot-3. I'm 6-foot-1, and in real life, he might be taller than me, although it's close.

This past year, I watched every episode of "Tom Green Live," which may be an oddball thing because many people don't even know this show exists. Perhaps my devotion to Tom's AXS TV show explains why I was tongue-tied being right next to him. Had it been Brad Pitt, Johnny Depp, Robert De Niro or any other huge celebrity, I wouldn't have thought much about it because they're all regarded as huge celebrities.

Living in Studio City, Dina apparently runs into celebrities often. I suspect that I have with her as well, but, again, really the only two I know are Tom and Norm.

At Du-Par's, it wouldn't have been a stretch to look at me, Dina, Tom and has girlfriend and think we were together. Tom and I each wore hoodies, although mine had a little more style to it. We both were unshaven and were sitting so close that we heard each other's conversations.

Tom wasn't feeling well, and he and his gal were going to pick up cold stuff at Ralph's. Dina and I talked about getting a new bed frame and created a plan for the day because it was too rainy to hike. How interesting for all of us!