Thom,
You reminded me of my brushes with fame. I was 10 years old and a HUGE fan of Mark Lindsay, lead singer of Paul Revere and the Raiders. (Younger readers, just skip this post... you won't know these people. LOL)
My mom, siblings and I were in a restaurant at the San Francisco airport. He was in the next booth. I wanted so badly to say hi and that I was a fan, but I was only 10. I sat there mute, hating myself. I could have at least gotten his autograph, but I was just frozen.
I have since seen him again, up close and personal. He did a show on New Years' Eve a couple years ago, at a local hotel. He lives somewhere around Portland. He took a break, and happened to walk right past me. I smiled at him and told him I'd been a fan for over 40 years. It felt great to finally tell him!
I ended up seeing him again. He had a restaurant in Portland that was only in business a year or two. He broadcasted his radio show from a corner booth in the restaurant on Saturday nights. We went there for dinner once with 2 other couples. I passed him in the hall as I headed to the ladies room. We exchanged smiles and nods.
Kind of weird that our paths have crossed 3 times!
