This story is rather embarrassing, but I’m not above embarrassing myself, so here goes.

Yesterday when I went to the Reid, Murdoch building, Mike told me to go to the LaSalle St. entrance and ask for a “young gentleman named Kevin”. So I got there and asked for him and was told he’d be down in a second. .. I’d see him, “he’s a young man named Kevin”. I don’t know why everyone kept describing him that way, but that’s besides the point. So I’m standing in the lobby and this guy walks in.. distinguished, older, silver hair, nice looking guy, with an air of confidence. I could tell he was “somebody”. The people at reception are fawning over him, “so nice to meet you” etc, and every looked when he walked in. So he says that he’s there to go up to the roof and he’s told to wait for “a young man named Kevin” who would take him up to the roof.

So now we’re standing there.. him, me and some guy who is his assistant or something, I don’t know. The elevator comes and he’s taken to it and gets in with a bunch of people and then reception realizes I’m still standing there and tells me “follow them!” so i half run to the elevator to make sure I get on. At one point everyone is off the elevator and it’s just the 3 of us again. It was kind of awkward so I tried to make small talk “go sox!” and said something about a Sox cap he was holding. Actually I think I said it was “classy” and that I liked the subtle pattern. I know, I’m retarded. I heard that Alderman Burton Natarus was going to be there and I wondered if I was talking to him now. I don’t know why but I also noticed he had a Ralph Lauren overcoat. Ok, so anyway..

We get to the roof. I don’t really know what’s going on, where I’m supposed to be, what to do. I see some people off in this corner doing something with the news.. and then some other people were like “ok, lets go” and started walking. So I just followed after them and pretended I knew what I was doing. We went up into the clock tower, I took a bunch of photos of the clock. I spent a lot of time watching the Sox crowds, parade, rally. Walked up and down those clock tower stairs a ton of times going from the roof to the top and back just exploring the structure, seeing different views, etc.

At one point I was standing by a window in the clocktower watching the news crew interview people with the river & the Sox celebration in the background. Some people came up to where I was and were like “what’s going on out there?” and I said, “See that man walking away? They just interviewed him. ” They looked and then one guy started freaking out to the other, “Is that Dick Durbin?!?! Holy crap it is! Take a photo!” At which point I made sure I snapped off a few photos. Dick Durbin? Sounds familiar. .. and it was the same guy I rode the elevator with. But I couldn’t place it exactly.

Later on I struggled through some crowds, stood in a long line to get some lunch, and was headed back to the office, when I ran into Mike, who works in local politics and was the one who set the whole thing up for me that morning. “Who’s Dick Durbin? I know I should know this, but it’s escaping me,” I said. He said “That’s ok. You have tons of other things you know a lot about.. Dick Durbin? He’s the Illinois senator who isn’t Barack Obama.” And then I was mortified! The freaking senator? I talked to the senator and watched and photographed him and didn’t even know who it was? I should point out that I was operating on not much sleep and was kind of hung over.. which maybe gives me a little bit of an excuse, but also makes this all more embarrassing. Not only did I talk to the senator, but I talked to him with a ponytail, no makeup, and with sneakers and a hoodie on! I’m an idiot.