Be Careful

I was reminded recently that you should be careful who you let in your front door. I wasn't harmed, mind you, just a little chagrined. Recently I was walking my mom out the front door of our home, and on our way out, I encountered a very polite stranger on his way in. We live in an old schoolhouse, so it's not uncommon to find people wandering around occasionally. They're not sure what they're walking into, and most are usually just a little curious. If time allows, I don't usually have a problem giving them a quick tour, and if they're tied to the school or the town, I always love hearing their story. It's a good trade.

So, the man I let in the other day is a columnist with the Des Moines Register, and he was working on a piece regarding converted schoolhouses, and just happened to notice ours as he was passing through town on his way somewhere else. I was feeling chatty, gave him the (grand) tour, told a few (charming) stories, and didn't think another thing of it. The next day, I get a call from the paper, and they sent out a photographer to take a few pictures. I still wasn't too worried at this point.

Imagine my surprise when my mom called me early Sunday morning to tell me we were on the front page of the paper. I mean, really, to quote my dad, "Judas Priest." This is totally not what I was looking for, and I would live a completely fulfilled life without ever having been in any paper.

Our kids, who were not in any pictures, found it hilarious that we were on the front page. In fact, Kenzie called me at 10:30 that night to tell me that she giggled all day, and shared our good fortune with everyone at her opera rehearsal, and Sydney tried to find the paper to take it to basketball league.

I'm not making light of the columnist or his story. It was really interesting, and we were not by any means the only people in the story. I love to hear what other people have done with old school buildings. In fact, I read that one guy is running a bar in his old school. I'm wondering how much he makes because I could really use some help with the heating bill around here during the winter.

My lovely brother called to ask me what it felt like to be famous, and I had to admit to him that I was (laughingly) recognized at the little farmer's market in our town today. I'm not sure, but I think that lady asked me for an autograph......... I told him once fame really hit, I may not be able to keep in touch, but I'd be sure that "my people" let him know where I was. Smartass.