|
|
|
| Mon, Nov. 30 - - Mobile - RSS | |
|
|
No kiss and tell here
Stafford chauffeur drives pop-music celebrity around WashingtonDate published: 9/5/2003
By JANET MARSHALL
Elsie Belman of Stafford County chauffeured Britney Spears around this week, so she knows a thing or two about the pop diva. Like: Spears has a pair of pink flip-flops, probably a size 7. Belman, a size 6, slipped them on her stockinged feet briefly after the star left them in her sport utility vehicle. "I just wanted to be able to say I walked in her shoes," Belman said yesterday. The shoes were too big. Spears, of kissing-Madonna fame, was in Washington this week to rehearse for and perform at last night's NFL Kickoff Live event on the National Mall. Belman, of Elsie Slyman Belman Stretch Limousine Service, said she was hired to drive Spears because she's experienced at shuttling celebrities around. She's driven Mick Jagger and Billy Joel, she said. "I'm good with rock groups," Belman said. "They can trust me not to turn around and say, 'Can I have your autograph?'" Belman said she keeps her mouth shut but her ears open when she drives celebrities. If she overhears anything juicy, she keeps it to herself, revealing only those anecdotes that reflect well on her clients. Like: "I had [Spears'] grandfather in the front seat, and she was very respectful of him," Belman said, by cell phone from Washington. "Whenever he said anything, she said, 'Yes sir.'" Driving Spears has been both a thrill and an exercise in restraint for Belman. She's known in Fredericksburg for battling the city's tourism office in the 1980s. Back then, Belman drove a tour bus and complained that tourism officials didn't promote her business. Now, Belman's job requires deference and discretion. Much as people bugged her to, she didn't ask Spears for an autograph or picture. She didn't tell her nephews the phony name Spears registered under at a Washington, D.C. hotel. And she didn't dare ask Spears about kissing Madonna at the MTV Video Music Awards. "It's bad enough I tried on her shoes," Belman said. But just as Belman couldn't resist donning Spears' flip-flops, she couldn't resist sharing a few details about the Mouseketeer-turned-sex symbol. Like: An assistant went to a Georgetown shop and bought Spears seven pairs of boots, hoping one would feel right, Belman said. Spears apparently wears Estee Lauder Beyond Paradise perfume. Belman spotted it in her bag. And not long after Belman picked them up at Dulles International Airport Tuesday, Spears and two friends rang another friend on a cell phone and sang "Happy Birthday." "Nice, nice," Belman said when asked how they sounded. While thrilling, Belman's brush with fame also brought some stress. She lay awake one night worrying what would happen if someone broke into her vehicle, a Ford Excursion. Spears had left some clothes in it. Belman said she figures Spears' life has its share of stresses, too. "People think she has a glamorous life, but it's work," Belman said. "She's a very hard-working woman." To reach JANET MARSHALL: 374-5527 jmarshall@freelancestar.com
Date published: 9/5/2003
|
 |
|||
|
|||
