I wasn’t having a bad day but I was carrying a heavy sack filled with silverware that I had bought on sale. Why is that stuff so heavy? I thought, since I had my heavy load, and being in the Marais I would head to rue des Francs Bourgeois and catch my favorite bus, number 29. It goes right by my apartment building and would save me the trudge from the nearest metro stop to us. I arrived on the rue, looked left and there, half a block from where I stood, was bus 29 at the stop. I ran like a mad woman waving my Navigo pass hoping the driver would see me and take pity on me but he wouldn’t even make eye contact with me and I’m sure it’s against the law or something to stop on the street where there isn’t a stop but still. Bus 29 doesn’t have that many buses as some other routes have. If I stood there I knew there would be a 20 to 30 minute wait. I even half heartedly tried to make it to the next stop further on by the Place des Vosges as it wasn’t far and the bus had to stop at a red light but, alas, I just couldn’t make it.
Well, dang, although I was thinking more than that. I decided to make the walk back to the metro stop taking a short cut through the Place des Vosges cursing as I marched along with my heavy bag pulling my arm down and my back starting to hurt along with my feet. I noticed a man and woman a little way ahead. He was taking a photo of a little table outside a jewelry shop there in the walkway which always has an orchid plant on it. I’ve taken a photo of it myself as it looks really sweet and lovely sitting there. I stopped to wait for him to finish his photo. As I walked by I glanced at him and stopped. It was Paul McCartney of The Beatles fame. Who hasn’t thrilled to their songs? I spent many an hour in high school listening over and over again to them.
I was so startled that I said, “Oh, Hi!”. He looked at me like, “Do I know you?” but in a second said Hi back. Then I blurted out with my hand on my heart, “I’m just so surprised to see you here!” And he replied, “I like surprising people.” Isn’t that nice? I didn’t have my camera with me or I’m sure I would have taken a photo. By the way, the woman he was with is the one he is rumored to be dating now according to my Google search.
Anyway, as I boarded my metro I thought how nice it was to have seen Paul McCartney and how exciting it had made my afternoon. Maybe the fates were making it up to me for having missed that bus. And, in the funny way things can turn out-I would never have seen him if I hadn’t missed the bus. I’m sure he went right back to his hotel room to write about me too.

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