David Archuleta Vs. Dan Cahoon

Ryan left the MTC last week and finally began his mission in the field.  On a temporary detour to South Carolina where he'll await his visa to Brazil, Ryan was in the Salt Lake City airport, and his first day out, met a superstar.  Yes, that's right--Little missionary Ryan ran into David Archuleta.

David Archuleta!!  You know, of American Idol fame?  That's big.

Ryan says he and David shared a moment.  They even shook hands.  Sweet!

So Ryan runs into a megastar on his way out to the mission. 

His story reminded me of the megastar I ran into on my way home from my mission. Yep, that's right--on my very last day out, I ran into Dan Cahoon.

Dan Cahoon!! You know of Marshall Dyllon fame and local notoriety?  No?

Well, he was a big name in a small town. 

Dan and I went grew up in the same city and went to the same schools.  He was a year older than me and I had always known who he was, but I doubt he ever knew me.  He was in the school musicals, sang in the choir, played in community theatre, and I'd see him around.  But then I met Kim, and she knew Dan (better than I did), and we developed this long running joke about him being my boyfriend.  He wasn't really my boyfriend, or ever any sort of love interest, and he didn't know me, so it was no big deal.  But then, when you're 14, everything is a big deal. 

After school, Dan went on to Nashville, sang a bit with the band, did his own mission thing, and then I never saw him again.

Years later, I had just gone through customs at LAX.  Having left Taiwan at 3:30 pm, sat on a plane for 12 hours, and arrived in L.A. at 5:30 pm of the same day, with your hair pulled up in a pony tail, no make up on, haven't showered since 7:00 am Taiwan time, and are all hot and sweaty from the heat and from hauling your carry-ons, the first person you don't expect to see as the first person you've seen from home for 18 months is not Dan Cahoon.

To say the least, I was unprepared.  I don't know if he recognized me as someone he'd seen before or as just another missionary passing through, but he looked right at me and just stared because I was shocked (and because I couldn't believe what I was seeing).  And it was just awkward.  I mean, when you see someone that you don't really know for the first time in years, and you've just come from a foreign land, and you smell bad and have oily skin, and have 18 months of fried rice stains on your skirt, and all of a sudden you are confronted with your fake 'boyfriend' at the LAX airport, there are a lot of things going through your mind--

Things like this

and this

 and this

Needless to say, I did not shake his hand.

P.S. I had to email Kim to ask her what band Dan sang for.  Her response?  "Missing your old boyfriend?"  I told you it was long running.