In Line

As I was standing in a line in downtown Toronto today, I happened to look over and discover that the person standing next to me was Margaret Atwood.

I elbowed The Guy sharply and nodded in her direction. He gave me a puzzled look, 'cos all he saw was a small lady with greying hair. I had to stage-whisper "That's Margaret Atwood!" in his direction, hoping she couldn't hear me.

As it happens, Oryx and Crake is one of the few books The Guy read last year, so he was suitably impressed.

I didn't say anything to her. Eventually, she walked off to go about the rest of her business. It was only hours later that I asked myself: How the hell did I recognize Margaret Atwood?

I've seen her photo in her books, perhaps. I may have seen her in an interview or a news item or two. She's a big deal for a Canadian - everyone knows who she is, though her books are a bit too heavy and obscure in content to be assigned in high schools. But Douglas Coupland is also a big deal for a Canadian, and I wouldn't recognize him if he came to my door.

I recognized her instantly, as if she were a movie star. I guess that makes me nerdy?

When I googled her, I discovered that www-dot-margaretatwood-dot-com is not taken, and neither is dot-ca. What is she thinking? Someone could put porn up there! It would reflect badly on her! A domain name is only like 8 bucks a year. Margaret needs some web-savvy help. A Canadian institution with a porn site on her name cannot be thought of.

If I'd known this a few hours ago, I would have mentioned it in line.