A friend has a fun pursuit with her brother-in-law, counting how many celebrities they’ve seen. They are both well over a hundred now. This has inspired me to recount my less frequent encounters with famous people.

In my career in the public library, I served people one on one. In that role, I received much feedback, usually favorable. I was always aware that such affirmation is not the norm for many jobs. Many people rarely or never receive a thank you or praise for doing their job. Some barely get acknowledgment for being a person.

The summer of 1967 was a time of personal upheaval and new perspectives. I, a backward homebody, toured Europe with high school friends and finished with two weeks of liberating hitch hiking in Ireland.

For troubled, lonely people there is always the possibility of some good samaritan coming along to offer comfort (letter tributes to acts are newspaper regulars, though they are more likely to be about a car breakdown than an emotional breakdown). But, no, it is mostly for friends or relatives to come through for us when we’re alone. We should always be on alert.

The pause that refreshes. Put a nickel in the machine and out popped a shapely bottle of tasty effervescence. A few gulps and you were on your way. It was a Coke and it was six ounces.

Years ago my wife and I were in D.C. and we went to Jack’s Boats on the Potomac to rent a canoe. Jack’s is in Georgetown and a short walk from a very hip and expensive world. No double lattes at Jack’s.