A new career?

I attended my first red-carpet event this weekend, a quintessential southern California experience.

I was on the paparazzi front line outside El Cajon City Hall as gobs of B-list TV celebrities and teen heartthrobs arrived to take part in the annual Mother Goose Parade.

Among the first arrivals was John Schneider (Bo from "The Dukes of Hazzard") who pulled up in the General Lee. And, yes, the car still plays the first few notes of "Dixie" on its horn. (Click on the map or any pic for a larger view.)
Each of the other celebrities pulled up in one of several limos that were otherwise hidden behind City Hall waiting to pick up the stars after they arrived in their personal vehicles. The revelation shattered my naïve fantasy of celebrities' traveling around in limos everywhere they go.
Most of the celebrities shook hands and passed out autographs to the crowds of screaming fans surrounding the red-carpet area.

Schneider has held up well over the years.
But I can't say the same for Dean Cain, who stared as Superman in "Lois and Clark" then hosted the "Ripley's Believe It or Not!" series.
Erik Estrada arrived with his daughter.
Robert Wagner was with his co-star from the "Dennis the Menace" movies, Maxwell Perry Cotton, who also appears on "Brothers & Sisters."

The parade was a much-delayed repeat performance for Wagner, who apparently served as Mother Goose grand marshal with his wife Natalie Wood in the late 1950s. That was well before the boating incident, of course.
Eva La Rue (CSI: Miami) with daughter.
Efren Ramirez played Pedro in the movie "Napoleon Dynamite."
Greg Grunberg from "Heroes."
Kimberlin Brown from "The Young and the Restless."
Sara Paxton from "Aquamarine."
Corbin Bleu, star of the "High School Musical" movies, generated the most excitement.
Everywhere he went crowds of teens and pre-teens screamed their heads off and jumped up and down in ecstasy. It was pandemonium.
Drake Bell, of Nickelodeon's "Drake and Josh," was probably the least crowd-friendly of the bunch.
Kyle Massey of Disney's "Cory in the House" and "That's So Raven."
"American Idol" runner-up Katharine McPhee.
Emily Osment, who plays the sidekick to Hannah Montana.
Singer Monet.
Schneider hamming it up with the crowd. Woof!

Here's the lineup before the parade rolled down Main Street.