# You never know who's standing in front of you, I suppose. **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [September 4, 2003, 2:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-never-know-whos-standing-in-front-of-you-i-suppose/199453 "2003-09-04T02:56:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Gundy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b782af/32.png) [@Gundy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gundy)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2003, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-never-know-whos-standing-in-front-of-you-i-suppose/199453/21 "2003-09-04T20:09:58Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by andygirl \* > \*\*Also, JD Salinger likes pens. He has a space pen that can write upside down. \*\* I am incapable of reading the word “pens” as anything other than “penis”. ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2003, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-never-know-whos-standing-in-front-of-you-i-suppose/199453/22 "2003-09-04T20:11:43Z")
My younger brother vomited on Danny Kaye.\* _Before he_\* died. \*\*Danny Kaye. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2003, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-never-know-whos-standing-in-front-of-you-i-suppose/199453/23 "2003-09-04T20:22:52Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by andygirl \* > \*\*When they left, the owner of the store (who was doing cashier duty) pointed out the door and said, “Do you know who he is? That’s J. D. Salinger.” > > Yikes. 🆒 \*\* Color me _extremely_ envious, **andy**! ---
**Author:** ![CrankyAsAnOldMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crankyasanoldman/32/11670_2.png) [@CrankyAsAnOldMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CrankyAsAnOldMan)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2003, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-never-know-whos-standing-in-front-of-you-i-suppose/199453/24 "2003-09-04T20:34:53Z")
My girlfriend was bupring her new baby at an outlet mall last month and a guy came by and commented on how cute the baby was. After he left, two other women came up and said “Wow, you were talking to Alice Cooper!” She had no idea. I once tried to get Daryl Hannah’s autograph for my friend who was a huge fan. I didn’t have the nerve to ask her, so I approached the guy she was sitting with, just some schmoe. He was really nice in turning me down. Turns out later the “nobody” I was so comfortable approaching was JFK Jr. ---
**Author:** ![cbawlmer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/71e660/32.png) [@cbawlmer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cbawlmer)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2003, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-never-know-whos-standing-in-front-of-you-i-suppose/199453/25 "2003-09-04T21:47:51Z")
My husband works in a comic shop (where I used to work myself). One day the phone rang and it was Harlan Ellison, wanting to order some old comics. He’s called several times since. I ran into director Terence Malick at a video store in Austin once. And when I was in London in 1996, we ate in a restaurant and realized Jack Klugman was sitting beside us. He was there doing _The Odd Couple_ in the West End. ---
**Author:** ![sickboy51](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bb73d2/32.png) [@sickboy51](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sickboy51)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2003, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-never-know-whos-standing-in-front-of-you-i-suppose/199453/26 "2003-09-04T22:37:12Z")
Whow, J.D.Salinger himself. I would go buying there everyday. ---
**Author:** ![MsRobyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/90ced4/32.png) [@MsRobyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsRobyn)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2003, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-never-know-whos-standing-in-front-of-you-i-suppose/199453/27 "2003-09-04T22:37:56Z")
I rode in an elevator with Walter Mondale once. Robin ---
**Author:** ![LiveOctopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/dfb087/32.png) [@LiveOctopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LiveOctopus)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2003, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-never-know-whos-standing-in-front-of-you-i-suppose/199453/28 "2003-09-04T23:23:24Z")
Living near Bangor, ME, I run into Stephen King in bookstores or the library with some regularity. Not literally, fortunately. Also, my dad once sat next to him at Fenway Park and, as they merrily chatted about the game, he unwittingly consumed a napkin which, for some reason, had been inserted into his burger. He noticed halfway through. ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2003, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-never-know-whos-standing-in-front-of-you-i-suppose/199453/29 "2003-09-05T00:11:26Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by LiveOctopus \* > \*\*Also, my dad once sat next to him at Fenway Park and, as they merrily chatted about the game, he unwittingly consumed a napkin which, for some reason, had been inserted into his burger. He noticed halfway through. \*\* Your father did or Stephen King did? ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2003, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-never-know-whos-standing-in-front-of-you-i-suppose/199453/30 "2003-09-05T00:13:41Z")
I got to fondle Shania Twain’s bum once. My girlfriend at the time was quite pissed with me. All I’ve got to say is, Shania works out! Whoa! 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Tiger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/6de8d8/32.png) [@Mama\_Tiger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Tiger)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2003, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-never-know-whos-standing-in-front-of-you-i-suppose/199453/31 "2003-09-05T00:19:02Z")
I ran into Danny Glover at a mall in L.A., where he and his kids were admiring the _best_ gumball machine any of us had ever seen. I’ve always liked him more after he said, “Now, THAT was worth a quarter!” And I worked with a woman who grew up all over the world, and spent a couple years in the jungles of Thailand in the early '60s. They were in a hotel somewhere in Asia and there were all these screaming girls outside, and they had to prove they were guests of the hotel to get in, and then there were these four young guys with really weird long hair on the elevator with them. Turned out it was the Beatles. She’d never _heard_ of them at that point. Eek! ---
**Author:** ![Adoptamom\_II](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/7ba0ec/32.png) [@Adoptamom\_II](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Adoptamom_II)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2003, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-never-know-whos-standing-in-front-of-you-i-suppose/199453/32 "2003-09-05T02:49:20Z")
lame but I offer it up for ridicule - i literally ran into Aaron Carter while fighting my way to the bathroom. My daughter asked which side of my body I bumped him with and she’s been sleeping with the shirt next to her face for several weeks ~ lol! He looked like an average kid to me, concave chest, a few pimples and skinny legs (we were at a water park he was to perform at that night). He did put on a mighty fine concert - playing music geared toward the parents who had been drug their by their kids! ---
**Author:** ![hyperjes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/df705f/32.png) [@hyperjes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hyperjes)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2003, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-never-know-whos-standing-in-front-of-you-i-suppose/199453/33 "2003-09-05T03:03:17Z")
My husband and I occasionally attend a gathering of people where only first names are used. About two years ago, we had a new kid turn up. He was…interesting. Told lots of stories about certain famous people he knew personally. We tried to be nice, but we thought he was a little offish. Not lying exactly, because he seemed to believe the stuff he said. We didn’t really take him seriously and he moved a few months later. The kid’s name was America. I was poking around online a few months ago and came across his picture. I couldn’t believe the caption. He was america Hoffman. Abby Hoffman’s son. :eek: I guess he was telling the truth… ---
**Author:** ![hyperjes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/df705f/32.png) [@hyperjes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hyperjes)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2003, 3:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-never-know-whos-standing-in-front-of-you-i-suppose/199453/34 "2003-09-05T03:10:52Z")
“Abby” should read “Abbie.” Apologies all round. ---
**Author:** ![karomon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/f07891/32.png) [@karomon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/karomon)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2003, 4:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-never-know-whos-standing-in-front-of-you-i-suppose/199453/35 "2003-09-05T04:23:09Z")
I never realize who I’m looking at until five minutes after they’re gone. A while ago, a very nice and cheerful gentleman in a beret held a door for me as I was walked into a store. 5… 4… 3… 2… 1… “Hey! John Lithgow!” Two weeks ago, I was walking down Prince St. at breakneck speed, preoccupied with something. A woman was walking towards me at the same pace, busy talking to her friend. We had to dodge each other at the last minute. When I finally got where I was going … “Waaaait a minute. Cameron Diaz?” ---
**Author:** ![Dijon\_Warlock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a9a28c/32.png) [@Dijon\_Warlock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dijon_Warlock)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2003, 4:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-never-know-whos-standing-in-front-of-you-i-suppose/199453/36 "2003-09-05T04:25:17Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by OpalCat \* > \*\*Did Willy Porter open for them? I saw them August 7. Mmmmm… Tull… \*\* KC and the Sunshine Band, believe it or not. **KC:** “We’re gonna take you back and do a song from 1977…” \*\*Me: \*\*“Dude, _all_ your songs were from 1977!” Tull was awesome, as always. ---
**Author:** ![Flamsterette\_X](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/41988e/32.png) [@Flamsterette\_X](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flamsterette_X)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2003, 4:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-never-know-whos-standing-in-front-of-you-i-suppose/199453/37 "2003-09-05T04:34:17Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Gundy \* > \*\*I am incapable of reading the word “pens” as anything other than “penis”. \*\* I did that a few nights ago… that was embarrassing. F\_X ---
**Author:** ![neutron\_star](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/51bf81/32.png) [@neutron\_star](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/neutron_star)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2003, 5:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-never-know-whos-standing-in-front-of-you-i-suppose/199453/38 "2003-09-05T05:15:23Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Gundy \* > \*\*I am incapable of reading the word “pens” as anything other than “penis”. \*\* Thanks a lot. Now all I can do is sit here and giggle about J.D. Salinger’s space penis. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Apollyon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/apollyon/32/4238_2.png) [@Apollyon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Apollyon)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2003, 5:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-never-know-whos-standing-in-front-of-you-i-suppose/199453/39 "2003-09-05T05:17:15Z")
Perhaps not quite in the same league as some, and kinda “gamer geeky”… But a few years back, visiting Lake Geneva, WI on business (to see TSR, the D&D people), I wandered the main street and ended up in a games store. I was chatting with the staff when a older chap came in (who they obviously knew) and joined in the conversation – took me a little while to realize he was Gary Gygax. ---
**Author:** ![Q\_Dizzle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/ecae2f/32.png) [@Q\_Dizzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q_Dizzle)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2003, 5:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-never-know-whos-standing-in-front-of-you-i-suppose/199453/40 "2003-09-05T05:31:56Z")
The only famous person that has come in the store where I work was the rapper Juvenile. I got to load some chairs he bought into his Escalade–complete with the TV’s, rims, and everything else you see on MTV. He had a Crown Royal bag full of cash in the truck. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-never-know-whos-standing-in-front-of-you-i-suppose/199453.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-never-know-whos-standing-in-front-of-you-i-suppose/199453.md?page=3)