Posted on 05/13/2017 7:49:21 AM PDT by sodpoodle
After reading so many articles on William Sessions, I remembered bumping into him when I worked in DC and it brought back other chance encounters with other 'celebs' and respected people.
William Sessions was heading down Pennsylvania Ave in DC and he nodded when I recognized him. As we walked to an intersection I said "Let's go!" He followed my orders and we both were nearly struck by a turning car. I laughed and said that being a cop - he should have known better. He was chuckling as I reached my building.
Another well respected gentleman and I were waiting at the receptionist windows and I noted his 'Metro' pin, stating that I loved riding the Metro for its convenience. The receptionist made a big fuss of the man and so I asked "Are you famous or something" The woman said "This is the father of the Metro" and with that Carlton Sickles handed me his 35 year service pin with a smile. Lovely man.
Other nice folks: Cal Ripken, Tony Snow and a few movie stars whose names escape me.
Encountering nature:
http://www.coolestone.com/media/16943/People-vs.-Nature-—And-The-Winner-Is.../#.WRcgpU02xOx
I rode down an elevator with James Carville when his wife was giving birth to their first child.
I asked him, “Are you who I think you are?” and he said yes.
I said to him, “Please give my regards to your wife” hoping he would register my disdain for him.
Glad you found the thread. I was hoping for some anecdotes like yours. Were you in DC when that took place? It is a beautiful city with great historical sites and one never knows who you’ll ‘bump’ into. Always a good story for the family members.
As a Youngster, 2nd year, at the Naval Academy I rounded a corner and bounced off David Robinson who was a Firstie, senior, at the time. He just stood there and asked if I was ok as I picked myself off the floor.
I had to look him up;) You mean this guy?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Robinson_(basketball)
WoW - old Grandmas learn something every day.
Yep —— ‘The Admiral’ they called him.
It was in DC where you would bump into all sorts of folks.
In 1975 I was a high school kid working at a sporting goods store in Northern Virginia. The future King of Spain, Juan Carlos, (now the former king) came in to buy golf balls. He had a security detail with him which fanned out through the store as he came in.
I was at the register up front and my friend was showing a Remington shotgun to a customer near the middle of the store. He picked the wrong moment to cycle the action on the semiauto because, in an instant, he had four scary looking guns drawn and pointed at him.
He quickly set the shotgun down on the counter. The guys in the suits secured it. The prince paid for a few sleeves and left.
It was after his cars drove off that we were told who he was and that we had caused a moment of excitement. The whole thing was over in maybe 3-4 minutes.
I lived and worked in Hollywood for decades, and have a box full of similar stories.
I was a 22 year old messenger driver in 1975. It was an incredibly fast paced gig.
One day I’m scooting through Century City to pick up a hot package. It needed to be downtown within thirty minutes, so I was smoking. As I rounded a corner (on a green light, no less) a guy steps off the curb against the light, apparently so preoccupied, he didn’t notice.
Thank God for youthful reaction time. I must have stopped my car within mere feet. In a split second, my bumper was almost touching the guy’s knees. As I recovered and looked into his horrified eyes, I realized he was Alex Haley, the author of the book, ‘Roots’.
Bet he was glad you shared the same ‘roots’ and that it was his fault;)
BTW - you have great writing talent and probably a host of good stories to tell your friends and family. I hope you’ll consider putting that gift to good purpose.
You could use a self-publishing service and maybe it could be a best-seller.
God bless
sod
Thank you for the compliment and the encouragement, Sod. I know I've got a book or three in me, but writing them would require a degree of time, dedication, and discipline, that I can't produce at present. Maybe after I retire, and get a couple more kids out of the nest.
A good buddy of mine has actually done just that, and has had a degree of success. He hasn't gotten rich from the income from his books, but it's enough that he and his wife don't need to rely on social security to live.
I think he was just relieved that I didn't kill him! LOL
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