Close Encounters

 I  seldom return from even the most mundane of errands without Blake asking me, "Did you see anyone while you were at..(fill in the blank with HyVee, Rock Port, Dollar General, Torrey Pines or Casey's)?   Tarkio being a very small place, I usually have seen SOMEONE, but I know what he really means: "Did you see anything interesting, fascinating, worth noticing?"  Alas, unless I see one of the grandkids, or some unlucky out of town driver nabbed by a diligent patrolman, I rarely have eye-popping news to relate.

That is why, when traveling, we are always on the lookout, scanning the crowds at airports or restaurants, particularly in locales where we think beautiful or famous people might be hanging out just waiting to be noticed.

Let's be clear about chance encounters of the famous kind.  A photo op in a meet and greet doesn't count.  We've had our picture taken with folks like Jack Hanna, host of animal shows, Mike Rowe when he was Aaron's biggest hero with Dirty Jobs, and this year, Reba McEntire while in Nashville.  She was gracious.  We didn't wait around to get a picture with Peyton and Archie Manning, even though I think they are great personalities.  A picture taken with a politician usually has cost you money, though there are always exceptions.  We were just behind a whole group of FFA kids in their blue jackets when George W. Bush visited an elevator in Aurora, Missouri.  Ben was with us that day and I was so impressed with the warmth and enthusiasm Mr. Bush showed when it came to reaching over and through the crowd to shake every one of those kids' hands.  Blake and I were once so close to candidate Ronald Reagan that my flash picture of him receiving a beautiful dove colored Stetson at a rally at a ranch near Kansas City back in 1980 was actually overexposed.  Funny story that: we rode down to the rally with Harry Broermann and after we signed in, we were asked if we'd like to stand behind Mr. Reagan while he spoke.  We were thrilled and soon found ourselves with a close up, though rear view, perspective on the rally from atop hay bales behind the podium.  Never mind that we were chosen to be targets: the serendipity of being that close more than outweighed whatever risk there was of a sniper on Jewett Fulkerson's ranch.  I'm not sure that  incident counts as a "meeting" but it was odd enough to be one of our favorite memories.

Farther down the political ladder, we once saw political analyst Michael Barone and author/raconteur P.J O'Rourke in a hotel bar in Washington, D.C while Blake was on the phone to Ben at home, a big fan of P.J. O'Rourke.

 Blake asked Mr. O'Rourke to please say hello to Ben and with an impish grin he took the phone from Blake, saying, "Ben...your parents are both gone...you should raid the liquor cabinet!". It was a hoot, though not quite up to having Cardinal baseball announcer John Rooney record the voicemail message on Ben's cell phone.....

But the A Number One encounter with fame and celebrity, one that epitomizes Hurst family lore and the quintessence of personal experience is the day Blake saw lead vocalist and guitarist Ray Benson of Asleep at the Wheel at the airport in Kansas City.  Now, understand, we have seen famous people at KCI: Tony Dungy for instance...and a very tan Roy Williams was on the same flight to Hawaii as we were...though not in coach!

Blake's encounter with Ray Benson, singer of Hot Rod Lincoln and Boogie Back to Texas, occurred under much more personal circumstances....as a matter of fact, one could say they were side by side.....

 P. S.  Other hits include Route 66 and Big Ball's in Cowtown....

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