From 2000 to 2004 I worked in the Dignitary Protection Unit at the Oregon State Capitol. This unit provided protection for the Governor and family as well as for all visiting dignitaries to the state. In 2002 the Governor was scheduled to be at some event at the Rose Garden in Portland and my assignment was to check out the venue about a week before his appearance there. When I got up to the Rose Garden one of the head honchos gave me the grand inside tour. It was getting to be late afternoon and I had all the advance info I needed but he insisted on bringing me to the stage where there was a sound check going on for some kind of show that evening. Technicians were scurrying around miles of lights and cables while musicians and dancers were doing their various things. I was introduced to some hip entertainment type who asked if I would like some backstage passes for the show. I was in kind of a hurry and wanted to beat the rush hour traffic back home so I declined. Then he introduced me to some young woman who asked if I was coming to the show that night. As I told her no I noticed a shiny diamond type thing stuck in her navel. I'd never seen anything like that before. I checked my watch and as I started to leave the head honcho looked as if he'd seen a ghost. I thanked him and drove back to our office in the Capitol building in Salem. As soon as I walked in one person after another said things like "You blew off Brittany Spears?" "You turned down free tickets?" "I can't believe you did that!" I didn't know what they were talking about. What kind of spears? Apparently after I left the Rose Garden the head honcho had called our office and wanted to know what was with me. My boss assured him that I just wasn't up on pop culture. Later some prankster would occasionally leave a People magazine on my desk. I rarely recognised anyone in it. Fame is a wart!
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