MatchaMonkey remembers: Janet Reno

I have a knack for running into random celebrities on my travels. Technically it's only happened twice, so I don't know if that qualifies as "having a knack" for something, but I'm going to stick with it.

After graduating college, I went on a two week vacation with some friends to Ireland. It was a wonderful time in my life; I had just graduated from college, was heading to Japan in a month, and the world seemed full of promise and adventure. My friends and I were enjoying the sights of Dublin in between pints of Guinness. One outing took us to Dublin Castle, where, after touring the inside of the castle, we were relaxing for a moment in the vast courtyard. After a few moments, one of my friends said, "Hey, look--it's Janet Reno."

I chuckled to myself, assuming that this of course was a joke, just my friend's random sense of humor. I assumed there must be someone who looked sort of like Janet Reno. I looked up to see a woman wearing a bright blue suit, and not just looking sort of like Janet Reno--looking exactly like Janet Reno.

"Oh my God, it is Janet Reno," I said. And my friends and I watched as she walked across the courtyard, entourage in tow.

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Later that same day, my friends were enjoying yet another pint at yet another real Irish pub. It was crowded, and we were seated at the bar in a back room of the pub. Of all the pubs in Dublin, Janet Reno came a short time later to this one. She sat, with a friend, at a table near the back of the room in which we were seated.

My friends and I instantly started debating whether or not to send her a drink. In the end, we decided not to--in order to respect her privacy, or something like that. In retrospect though, man, I wish we had sent her that drink.