My first thought upon seeing Ed Begley (Jr.) standing in my local supermarket trying to sell product was: Oh, great, those darn actors went on strike and now this poor thespian was forced into a second job.

I didn't really think that. But I did ask him if he was prepping for the strike. He replied: "I'm doing the Paul Newman thing."

You actors. Gosh darnnit, you're special. But, so are we, right? The common people. I know this because, as I watched the other storemongers interact with (Jr.), I realized life is but a stage, and all the men and women...no, I don't want to quote that trite B.S. here.

But it's true, we're all acting like something with one another. It was just, in that instance, (Jr.) was so much better at it than anyone in the store.

Ample evidence occurred when the 6'4" Transgender (once a dude, might still be a dude) in the long, flowery red dress parked it at (Jr.)'s table and introduced him/herself. It wasn't long before the two were talking cleaning tips.

And (Jr.) pulled it off, baby. (Is he up for an Emmy or something?)

While the rest of the store was snickering, (Jr.) stayed committed, and played his part with gusto: the friendly salesman you'd feel OK about lending your bike to. And he wouldn't even laugh if one of your tires was made out of Legos.



In short, he was working his tail off, one bottle of Begley (Jr.)-Off at a time. And you can bet Newman never had to start out like that.

Horoscope: If today's your birthday, and you're not a celebrity, it's a safe bet you'll never have your own cleaning product. May we recommend:





"You really think that counter's cleaned, punk face?"