atypical, really

so, like, it is a typical saturday. by 5am, there is a line so long, i can’t actually see the end of it. and more passengers are pouring around the corner to join them every minute that ticks by. there are a couple of passengers acting weird, so we are keeping an eye on them. i’m making announcements and checking IDs against boarding passes. some people are ticked at the long wait in line. some people are just sour people to begin with. some people are bored & sleepy. some people are begging me to make “them” move the starbucks onto the other side of the checkpoint. as if i’m that awesome. if i could do, i already woulda did-done. some are pleasant and wide-awake and really don’t need that second coffee, from as far as i can tell. and some people just are.

i’m checking an ID against a ticket and noticed that they are pre-selected by the airline to undergo additional screening. as i’m explaining the highlighter on the ticket to the dude, who has a very striking face (that i’m sure i’ve seen somewhere, but i can’t quite recall why i think that), my co-worker strikes up some idle conversation with him and we learn he is in a band from seattle that played john-hopkins on friday night. my head snaps up and i look directly at him, the name on his ticket, and then behind him and sure, enough....my lips form the name of his band as he’s speaking it to my co-worker.

it was everclear. i personally signed their boarding passes. how friggin’ cool is that?

why is it that i am sooooo intent on maintaining a cool professionalism, that i never think to ask for an autograph or something? why?? maybe it’s because i’m afraid the person will get all snooty and say no, like jack nicholson does. i suppose it’s because deep down, i guess they are just people too, and who wants to be pestered all the time? they got through security without anyone else so much as batting an eye at them. i waited until they were long gone and at their gate before mentioning it quietly to anyone else. they were probably glad to not have to deal with screaming throngs of people at 6am in between transcontinental flights between shows. (because they were coming back from seattle to the east coast again the very next night.) i just want a little something for me. maybe next time i can ask discreetly.

*memo to self: get small notebook to keep in pocket for next celebrity run-in.*