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So being at Sundance 2008 was a fun time. We saw a lot of good flicks, got to snowboard a little bit, and drank a fair amount of Utah’s hearty 3:2 beer (like grown-up beer, but more watery).

Then there was Skipper the Free Hugs Guy.

It started the same as every celebrity sighting. We were walking down Main Street, feet turned to blocks of ice from underdressing our feet with thin socks. As we were looking for a ski shop to buy extra warmth, we passed Morgan Spurlock, the star/director of Super Size Me. Being the celebrity hound that I am (not), I recognized him only by his take on the James Hetfield mustache. I asked my wife if she recognized him.

From behind us, Skipper made his presence known.

“Yeah, I’ve met Morgan so many times now, I figured I’d make sure he remembered my name was Skipper,” Skipper proclaimed without prompting. “I see him all the time and we talk. He’s pretty cool.”

Skipper was wearing no coat in the 20 degree weather, but his short and stocky frame did have a giant gray shirt with “FREE HUGS” emblazoned in 140-pt Helvetica. My wife and I were unaccustomed to engaging with strangers, being from Chicago and fighting off the homeless horde at every turn. We walked along with Skipper for half a block as he detailed his celebrity adventures.

After about 10 seconds of chit-chat, rapper slash actor Mos Def came out of nowhere and took up Skip’s offer for a FREE HUG. “Hey how are you?” the rapper asked us. “What’s going on?” Now, my wife and I are fairly big Mos Def fans. I’ve owned all his albums since Black Star with Talib Kweli. We’ve seen all his movies. I even received a Nixon Rotolog (Dark Cherry) from my wife about 4 years ago after seeing Mos pimping it in FADER.

So there we were. Standing in a big circle on the sidewalk. Me, my wife Allison, Mos Def, and Skipper the Free Hugs Guy. The whole thing was just a little too ridiculous to handle. Alli and I looked at each other and said, “Well, we’re gonna go buy socks.” And we walked away, followed soon by Skip.

Mos Def was left standing by himself in the morning cold.