The Bitch Is Back. No, Really.

So yeah, Elton John came into my work today.

And guess who helped him check out? That’s right, I was involved in a direct commercial transaction with Sir Elton John.

He came in wearing a black track suit and he was accompained by two gentlemen (bodyguard and assistant, I assume). He purchased things in pairs. Two copies of Rob Sheffield’s new book, Love Is A Mixtape; two copies of Lang Lang’s Dragon Songs and two copies of a book displaying the worst album covers ever. Those along with an album by Frank Yankovic (the polka guy!!!) and a couple of other books whose title I don’t recall. He paid cash out of his enormous billfold which held dozens of hundred dollar bills. And you know what was really funny? He had a Barnes & Noble Member Card (which had expired, by the way, and I happily renewed). That’s right, millionaires like to save 10% too.

Apparently he comes by every six months or so when he’s at his place in Atlanta. I was told that last time he spent way more money, like two grand. This time he only dropped a couple of hundred dollars. Maybe he’ll be back in the next few days. Maybe he’ll become a regular; I’ll see him every day and say “Hey Reggie, what’s new?” and he’ll reply, “Ya know, same ol’ same ol’, buddy!” and we’ll talk about the weather or sports or something mundane like that.

I gave him no preferential treatment and did not even acknowledge the fact that I knew who he was. I think that tactic can really go either way with famous people, they either feel at ease and comfortable because you’re not screaming “Oh my God!!” in their face or terribly offended that you don’t know who they are (so insecure, aren’t they?). I couldn’t really tell how he responded. He was neither rude nor pleasant, very matter-of-factly all business.

My mother screamed at me when I told her about this encounter; she said that I should have asked him for an autograph, you know, for my dear old mother who was such a big fan. But I couldn’t do that. First of all, that’s not really a professional thing to do at work. And then, I’m not really the kind of person who asks for autographs from people, it’s just weird, I’d rather just take the experience for what it is -a chance encounter with an aging queen that also happens to have been knighted by an actual aging queen.