Glance, don't stare

Portland is small enough that you run into people you know. I've run into people at the park, at New Seasons and at the coffee shops. I also have the strange experience of seeing someone you recognize but can't for the life of you say why. One should take a quick look in these circumstances, as the following tale tells.

I was in the Cincinnati airport a little ahead of schedule in 2002, our oldest child was a little over a year. Across the rows of seats I saw a familiar looking woman holding a baby. Seeing the baby I thought..swimming class...art class...birthing class....library group...playgroup party...friend of a friend. Going through all of these took some time and I am afraid I stared a bit as I tried to place her. She stared back and I couldn't tell if she was trying to figure out who I was or whether she was telling me to back the fuck off. The boarding call came and we all got on board. Apparently Delta was seating all the baby people together as this person was directly across from me. I then realized she was the lead singer of an indie rock band. And I had been staring at her for a good 15 minutes or so. Ashamed of my accidental stalking, I immediately switched seats with my wife and hid in the middle seat. I later met this person but she apparently does not have a mental map of all her stalkers (accidental or otherwise) so I wasn't called out. So be careful!