Brush With Greatness

I get acquainted with each class that I teach by handing out a questionaire that asks where they are from, what good/bad/strange jobs they've had, what brushes with greatness they've had, and what can they say about themselves that no one else in the class can say.

That elicited the answers that I blogged about yesterday. Over the years I have had plenty of interesting students.

One met Justin Timberlake before anybody knew who he was. She worked at a food booth in an airport. Justin arrived early and bought something from her. He chatted with her, but she had never heard of him. He told her who he was and showed her their new (first) CD. By the time she took my course, he was famous.

One girl was asked by M. C. Hammer to join his entourage. Hammer's grandmother lived in a small town near the university town. This girl's and Hammer's grandma were back-door neighbors. She refused his offer.

A guy was the manager of a grocery store where Whitney Houston shopped. He said she was a mess, as expected.

As for me, I once talked about dog genetics with Rue McClannahan's (actress on Maude and Golden Girls) sister. Rue's sister was a biology professor at the university that I attended. I did not know until years later that she was Rue's sister.