My one second of fame

It seems someone (Margie!) has outed me on my own blog!

Yes, I was on the evening news tonight -- and it might have actually been two seconds, but who's quibbling? I didn't want to be on it at all!

As mentioned Friday, I went on the annual "Talking Spirits" tour at Forest Hill Cemetery this afternoon. It's a living history event, during which you "meet" a few former Madisonians and learn about their life. It's on a par with Old World Wisconsin or Colonial Williamsburg -- except it's only for one day a year.

We had just settled in to hear the speaker at the final station on this year's tour, when I saw a golf cart pull up and news team climb out. I recognized the reporter as being from the local news I usually watch. They joined our group far left, and I breathed a sigh of relief knowing I was out of camera range. There was a row of chairs for those wanting to sit, which I left for older members on the tour, and started out standing behind. I decided to sit on the ground about a minute in, having been on my feet most the day, which meant I could clearly see the confederate soldier speaking to us, but people standing on the outer corners couldn't see me.

And then the camera man decided to walk down behind us as he filmed the speaker, until he was standing to my right.

I made a point of watching the time this evening so I could catch the story on the late newscast. I was surprised how long a segment it was (guess it was a slow news day). They showed three of the seven characters from the tour, talked to a few visitors and guides, but the confederate soldier seemed to get the most attention. And then right near the end of the segment -- EEK! That was me! The camera cut to my profile, chin resting on hand as I listened intently, for about a second...maybe two...before cutting away to another scene from the day. It happened so fast, you'd really have to know me to know it was me -- my face, my glasses.

So, for at least one second tonight, I was famous. Just 14:59 minutes of that 15 to go, LOL.