My Brush With Greatness

My Brush With Greatness

At the beginning of January 2006 my family and I lived in a suburb of Tulsa, Oklahoma when we found out that my wife was getting a promotion at work.  Her promotion required us to move down to the Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas area.  The first weekend in February we flew down to the DFW area for a weekend of house hunting.  On a rainy, dreary Sunday after we had signed a contract to by a house we headed back to the DFW airport to turn in our rental car so we could fly home.  On the way to the rental car lots I noticed a new Mustang as I pulled onto the road to go towards the rental car return lots.  I caught a quick glimpse of the driver but at the time it did not occur to me who see was.  Thinking back there was something that caught my attention but it was only in the back of my mind. 

My family and I turned our rental car in and walked to the area where we waited for the shuttle bus to take us to our terminal.  The bus finally came after an interminably long wait and a large group of people that included my family and me crowded onto the bus.  At the last minute after everyone was in their seats and the bus was just about to take off a slight woman with light blond hair dress entirely in faded out denim skipped onto the bus and move up to the driver and asked him a quick question.  The driver answer back just as quickly and she then took a seat on a grab bare across from me.  She had a hat pulled down over her eyes but I had recognized her as soon as she had entered the bus.  I could not imagine that the bar she was sitting on was comfortable so I asked her if she would sit in a chair because the only empty chair on the bus was located next to me.  In a polite southern drawl declined but told me that I was sweet to ask.  She was sending an e-mail on her Blackberry so I asked her about it because I had never one in person before.  She again politely answered my questions. 

As the bus trundled to its stops at each of the terminals no one else on the bus but me had recognized her.  I did not want to give away who she was because she was obviously trying to maintain her anonymity and I did not want to make her uncomfortable.  Finally everyone but my family and me plus one other older gentlemen were the only ones still on the bus with her.  When the bus emptied out she moved to one of the seat that were two or three seats down from down from me and across from my wife, my daughter, and the older gentlemen.  At this point I asked her if she was headed back to California and she said yes and asked how did I know that.  I answered, “Because I know who you are.”  At this point everyone on the bus was looking at each other and the older gentlemen asked my wife who she was under his breath.  

We chatted for a minute or two more and then she got off the bus just as wistfully as she had entered it.  One stop later and the bus completely emptied when my family and the older gentlemen and I disembarked.  Just as quickly as my brush with greatness had begun it then had ended.  I was wondering what she had been doing I the DFW area so when we got home I looked her up on the Internet and I turns out that she has a brother in Dallas.  I know you have been wondering whom I am referring to.  The person that I had a brush with greatness with was Renee Zellweger.