I have had occasion to rub shoulders with a fair number of "famous" people, but the aura wears off quickly when you get to know them. By no means all "ordinary people in extraordinary circumstances," although some of them leave that impression.
Some, notably Bill Clinton, Theo Bikel and Barack Obama, really do give (or did give) that inexplicable "aura" of being something special the second they walk into a room. But some, like Adrian was, are very "what's-the-big-deal-it's-just-me" types.
Of the two Nobel Prize winners I know, one, Bill Phillips (Physics) is as down to earth as the corner druggist. The other, David Trimble (Peace), I haven't seen in over ten years, and I hope he is still lucid. He is a wonderful character when sober, but when I used to hang with him, that wasn't often! But David was just as no-big-deal as Bill is. Very much what one imagines to be the archetypical Irish wit. Of course, the Nobel Prize is not awarded to just anyone. Even so, both men have obviously gone on with their lives as if winning the Nobel Prize were no more important than winning an extra loaf of bread at the local supermarket.
Howard Dean is another who very much fits that description. Of course, Howard was someone who didn't even burst on the national stage until well after he was 50, so he never really had a "hey-look-at-me" attitude to plague him when he suddenly became a household name. I knew him when he was "Howard Who?" and he's pretty much the same guy now that he was then, even after all he's been through (and accomplished!). His description of his 2003-2004 ill-fated presidential campaign is, "we didn't know what the hell we were doing."
Here is Adrian's "No Jews Please" joke that he sent me those many years ago:
A US Navy cruiser anchored in Mississippi for a week's shore leave.
The first evening, the ship's Captain received the following note from
the wife of a very wealthy and influential plantation owner:
"Dear Captain, Thursday will be my daughter Melinda's Debutante Ball.
I would like you to send four well-mannered, handsome, unmarried
officers in their formal dress uniforms to attend the dance."
"They should arrive promptly at 8:00 PM prepared for an evening of
polite Southern conversation. They should be excellent dancers, as
they will be the escorts of lovely refined young ladies. One last
point: *"No Jews please."*
Sending a written message by his own yeoman, the captain replied:
"Madam, thank you for your invitation. In order to present the widest
possible knowledge base for polite conversation, I am sending four of
my best and most prized officers."
"One is a lieutenant commander, and a graduate of Annapolis with an
additional Master’s degree from MIT in fluid technologies and ship
design."
"The second is a Lieutenant, one of our helicopter pilots, and a
graduate of Northwestern University in Chicago , with a BS in
Aeronautical Engineering. His Master’s Degree and PhD. In Aeronautical
and Mechanical Engineering are from Texas Tech University and he is
also an astronaut candidate."
"The third officer is also a lieutenant, with degrees in both computer
systems and information technology from SMU and he is awaiting
notification on his Doctoral Dissertation from Cal Tech."
"Finally, the fourth officer, also a lieutenant commander, is our
ship's doctor, with an undergraduate degree from the University of
Georgia and his medical degree is from the University of North
Carolina . We are very proud of him, as he is also a senior fellow in
Trauma Surgery at Bethesda ."
Upon receiving this letter, Melinda's mother was quite excited and
looked forward to Thursday with pleasure. Her daughter would be
escorted by four handsome naval officers without peer (and the other
women in her social circle would be insanely jealous).
At precisely 8:00 PM on Thursday, Melinda's mother heard a polite rap
at the door which she opened to find, in full dress uniform, four very
handsome, smiling Black officers.
Her mouth fell open, but pulling herself together, she stammered,
"There must be some mistake."
"No, Madam," said the first officer.
"Captain Goldberg never makes mistakes."
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