The Salvadoran muttered mira. He does this whenever he wants to show me something - with a sense of urgency. He murmurred el hombre detrás de ti so he'd be less obvious. I followed his eyes.

I was in line to the box office of the the Curran Theatre on Post St. trying to get tickets for the April 1 show of the musicale 'Jersey Boys' when I ran into KTVU's sportscaster Mark Ybanez. He's shorter than what I had imagined him to be. His face showed signs of acne during his younger years but that doesn't diminish his good looks. The Salvadoran and I agree that Mark is so much better looking in person.

In a city ten times smaller than most metropolitan areas, it is easy to run into someone who is well-known locally - or well-known period. I made sure I wasn't going to miss this photo op like the ones before. I asked the Salvadoran to take the pic using my camera phone. Mark was gracious and patient enough to pose and wait till we got our three (3) precious shots.

His name escaped me as well so I tried to get a simple conversation going hoping that his name will be brought to mind sooner than later. Everyone in queue at the box office was staring at us. Judging from their reaction, they must be from out of town. If they are local, they must not watch the evening news. Maybe they're just shy.

We've already walked a block from the theatre when we discovered the camera phone didn't take the shots. Mark, infact, walked with us for a couple more blocks. I could have asked for another photo op because I am sure the Salvadoran wouldn't mind taking the picture and Mark would probably say yes. Timidity already took over me so I just let another opportunity pass by.

I am sure there will be another time. I'm using a real camera next time.

~ral

(The photo above was taken after I enjoyed the last show of the musicale Legally Blonde at the Golden Gate Theatre. Thanks to my friend C, he was able to get tickets for a group of 8. It will premiere in NYC sometime in April.)