I had lunch with him once.

I was the morning  radio host at a radio station in Dallas. The call came mid morning- lunch with The Boss- you in?

Yeah, I was in.

I remember being pretty excited about it. The guy was a player- I wanted to see what the fuss was all about.

We met at his office. A colleague from my office came with me; I needed a wingman for this lunch.

Our host came through the door. he smiled as he approached me, and shook my hand-firmly, confidently.

“It’s nice to meet you, Mr. Scott.”

He knew my name. I was flattered.

We exchanged some polite chitchat. He asked about our jobs. The subject then moved to baseball. I love baseball. He loves baseball.The  rhythm and strategy of the game is poetry on grass; we agree on that. He appreciated what I appreciated.

We had chicken, potatoes, some steamed veggies, and a gigantic piece of chocolate cake.

During the lunch we had the occasion to talk about his dad,  another powerful executive.  Hearing him talk about his father gave me the impression that he was very proud of him. His voice changed when we got on the subject: he lowered his voice, and spoke at a lower volume- I distinctly remember that.

We finished lunch; he said he had to go. We took a few pictures, he excused himself, shook my friend’s hand, then mine, and said ” Thanks for comin’ by, we’ll see you again.”

My wingman and I left the ballpark and drove back to the radio station, basking in the afterglow of what we felt was  a genuine celebrity encounter.

We were in Arlington, Texas. The ballpark was the home of the Texas Rangers.

We had just had lunch with the owner of the team, George W. Bush.

You will meet people in this life at various stages of ascent and descent.  I didn’t think to keep in touch with my lunch guest. I was very young and not yet a savvy networker.

Our politics don’t match, but it wouldn’t have mattered. I might have been invited to some fabulous parties. I might have met some nice people down the road.

I wonder…