Maybe I'm a Jerk

I hate running in to people I went to school with and have fallen out of touch with over the years. I don't know what to say to them because, let's be honest, I want to stand there for about 45 seconds before going on my way, and I don't want to exchange phone numbers or fake promises of lunches because, if it hasn't happened in 10 years, why would we try to make it happen now?* I also stand the chance of saying "Hello" to someone who can't place me...then I have to explain who I am before launching in to "How have you been? Blah, blah, blah." (If you can't even remember me, I'm pretty sure you don't care how I've been.)

With this in mind, I am constantly aware of my surroundings in public places so as not to be taken off-guard by an old friend. I watch ahead and around and, typically, walk down the nearest aisle or hide behind my menu if I see anyone in need of avoiding.

There is one large exception to this rule: Airport Kiosks.
I have a strange hope, every time I'm in an airport, that I will see someone I went to school with working at an airport kiosk. And not just any airport kiosk. I mostly hope I will see these people in small, rural city airport kiosks. When we had a lay-over in Phoenix, I am constantly watching, hoping to see a familiar face selling "Site of the 2008 Super Bowl" shirts. In Indianapolis, I really wanted to purchase some playing cards from the girl who sat behind me in P.E. Oh, and I really wish the guy who handed me a slice of Sbarro in the Newark airport was an OC-escapee.

I know this makes me sound like I wish ill on those I went to school with. I really just think of it as a potentially great twist of fate. Judge me all you want for hoping this happens, but there are few better ways to fill the 45-second run-in than "I'm working at the Chili's On the Run in the Detroit International terminal."

*This is an over-generalization. There are, in fact, a handful of people I went to high school with that, given the chance, I would love to share a meal with and catch-up.