What better place for a "celeb" sighting than CVS?

So I had my first great DC-celeb sighting today, and it was a true Washington moment. Since I had a small lunch today, I decided I wanted to stop and pick up a snack after I left work. I headed across the street to the CVS on Connecticut right by the Farragut North stop. As I'm walking in, I get a call from Gretchen, who is enjoying her first day back in the U.S. after six months or so away in Paris. We're briefly catching up when I have to stop and whisper to her, "Oh my god, I think I just passed by Jenna Bush!" Then I proceed to say "Hold on, I have to see what she's buying." So I'm being totally shady and walking the aisles, while still talking to Gretch, who is totally living vicariously and getting extremely excited with me. I spot Jenna picking up some Vaseline Intensive Care lotion (Who would have thought? She seemed like a Kiehl's girl to me.) Then, just as I spin around to tell Gretch, I brush shoulders (ok, perhaps a slight exaggeration, but you weren't there, how do you know?) with Barbara, who is also shopping at this CVS! So clearly I become awkward as I'm talking to Gretch about the Bushes and they are in very close proximity to me. I keep trying to get away-- I think I headed for the wart-treatment aisle, and I'm blabbering on like "Oh my god! They're both here! This is wild!" and then Barbara appears at the end of the aisle, apparently looking around for Jenna. So of course, I just start laughing and trying to change the subject on the phone, but cannot, this is all too funny. As soon as Barb disappears, it seems I run into Jenna going the other direction. (Yes, the Bush twins were stalking me in CVS.) So I decide I have to call Gretch back, "acting natural" with her on the phone is not working well. Just then, I make a quick run to grab my bag of Funyuns, then I dart for the cash register to catch the twins on their way out.

I'm looking around, and it seems no one else in the place has noticed, nor acknowledged the Bush gals at the front counter, even though they are very recognizable standing next to one another. Jenna pulls out her checkbook to pay for her things (looked like she was also buying some school supplies... for her teaching job?), and the clerk asks for her ID. I'm thinking, this should be good. She glances at her ID, then back up at Jenna's face, kind of scrunches her eyebrows, starts to say something, but then holds back. Then Barbara darts out of the store, perhaps anticipating that she was about to be called out, or maybe because of the slow transaction time. Anyway, when Jenna finishes checking out, I quickly move up in line to jump up to the same clerk. She turns to her friend at the next register and says, "I swear that name looked familiar... Jenna Bush?..." Her friend is distant, not really paying attention, so I chime in, "Yeah, those girls were the President's daughters." The lady goes "Are you for real? No way!" And I'm like "Yeah, I'm positive!" Then she's like "I knew that name was familiar! She looked like her dad, actually, now that I think of it..." (one of those classic "after the fact" observances). Then she turns to her friend and tells her about it, and the girl who was out of it a moment ago suddenly gets excited and says "Are you serious?? We just waited on the President's daughters right here in front of us? Those two girls??" It was priceless. It felt like that moment in "The American President" when Michael Douglas walks into the florist and the woman faints.

So that was the highlight of my day! I ran out of the store to see if I could figure out where they were headed, but they had disappeared. Strangely, I never noticed any Secret Service dudes hanging around in CVS, but maybe they were "undercover" (do they do that??)... or standing outside the door? Don't know. But I think that's just enough excitement for one Monday afternoon, wouldn't you say?


Current Music: Ship of Fools, by Erasure
Current Mood: excited but strangely v. tired at the same time