As I stepped off the escalator into the Baggage Claim area, he started coming toward me. I didn’t think I was his target because I don’t know this guy. But the closer he came, the more obvious is was that he was about to block my path. Suddenly, he was standing right in front of me.
“Hey, Marshall,” he said. At least he’s friendly. “I’m the guy who e-mailed you!”
“Oh, great! Hi!” I said with a blank expression. I have no idea who this guy is.
“Yeah, I sent a note to you and that lady you’re on TV with a couple of years ago about coming to see the studio.”
“Dude. I got nothing. Help me remember. I get hundreds of e-mails a day.”
“Yeah, the lady, she comes to our Christmas party. The Delaware County Sheriff’s Office.”
“Oh, okay,” I said, desperately trying to put something together. I still have absolutely no idea who this guy is.
“Well, I just wanted to say hi. I’m from Cleveland. You’re Cleveland.”
I resisted the urge to say I was from Bucyrus, that I just worked in Cleveland for a while. “I’m so sorry. I have the memory span of a household gnat. But thanks.”
“Yeah, y’know I studied meteorology. How I ended up in this line of work is beyond me. Being a sheriff’s deputy and all.”
I’m at a total loss here. “Well, we all follow our passions. Have a good day!”
“Yeah. You, too.”
He never even told me his name. I have absolutely no idea who that guy was. Or why he thought I should recognize him because he sent an e-mail a “couple of years ago.”
Oy.
