While working at the Fair yesterday evening I saw not one, not two, not three, but four people I know, and who I was mortified to see ... at least on the inside. Maybe. I tried to play it cool. Don't know if it worked.
The first person was from high school. We kind of caught each other's gazes, dug in our own brains for a second going, "Wait, I know that guy/girl," and then we said hi. I went in for a hug because, well, that's what you're supposed to do, right? But she stuck out her hand, an obvious, and appropriate, defensive maneuver. Meeting her this way is odd because the last time I ran into her was at a bookstore at least a decade ago. The most interesting thing to happen to her, in my opinion, is that she not only has a master's degree but is back in graduate school for a second time. Never mind the cost and usefulness of that; to be honest, I never thought of her as the educated type. Now, she's beating my ass in post-secondary education. Makes me rethink not going back to school. I had to get something, she was looking for her two friends, and we did not exchange any information. That's OK; we will probably ran into each other at a grocery store a decade from now.
I was afraid that now that I saw one person I would see another, and sure enough I did. Fortunately it was one of the guys I ushered with back in the day, and he saw me before I saw him. Also, he gave me a hug, as I believe all of my ex-usher employees will do. He and his two friends were at the Fair to watch Depeche Mode at the Grandstand. Within 15 seconds they were off. That, I believe, was the right thing to do.
(By the way, after I got done I went over to the Grandstand and lingered by the side of it so I could hear the concert, which came in pretty good. Glad I got to hear the tail end, where every band worth its salt stores its hits. Of course Depeche Mode had to do "Enjoy The Silence" and "Personal Jesus." I thought that would be the end of it; by the time they got done with "Personal Jesus" it was a quarter after 10 and I thought the fireworks had to go off by 10. But as I was walking towards the buses, I heard the booming baritone of David Gahan launch into an acoustic, beautiful rendition of "Home." So I come back to hear that, then "Halo," another cut from DM's classic Violator album. By the time they hit "Just Can't Get Enough," it was a quarter to 11 and I promised Mother I'd be back by 10:30. I started my way to the buses when I heard the opening mashings of "I Feel You." The fireworks went up just before 11; the setlist, which sadly was the exact same one Depeche Mode played in the Chicagoland area in the concert before this three days ago, shows they had one more song after that: "Never Let Me Down Again." Oh, one other thing: I've seen Gahan perform songs on late-night TV shows and he's always yelping and egging the audience for a reaction. Kind of ... annoying, I'm afraid to say.)
So I met two people I know, and a part of me thought that the deluge of old faces was going to come, but another part of me thought that that had to be enough for the day and, possibly, my time working the State Fair. But about seven minutes before we were to close I see my cousin and his wife (well, my cousin-in-law ... is that a real word?) stroll in. I couldn't just run away, so I said, "Guys!" and they looked over. (My cousin-in-law, like my high school friend, also shook my hand, but I think I at least waited for her to make the first gesture. That's a good thing; I should write that down.) I asked them not to tell my parents that I'm working the Fair. No problem, he said. Good, and good to see that they seemed cool with me doing this. I should say that I texted my cousin a couple days ago on behalf of my parents, who wanted advice on what camera to buy. I told them that they (well, actually Father) took him up on one if his recommendations, and he asked me what lens did they buy. What lens? And then I had to work.
Phew! OK, so running into people I know while working a job that's beneath my IQ and educational background wasn't the worst thing in the world. Plus, after seeing four people I know, I can't run into any others, can I? Well, if it's the strippers from My Favorite Stripclub (Non-Cover Version), that's fine. In fact, that'd be great. But anybody else, including the worst-case scenario of seeing my -- gulp -- brother and sister-in-law? That would be devastating ... and, given that this is the Minnesota State Fair, likely to happen when I go back to work this weekend.
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