"Huh, that looks like CNN's John King," I thought as a silver haired gent came around the hall from a session with the TSA. John King, aka "Mr. Magic Wall," he of the gigantic touch-screen display used throughout the 2008 Presidential election, and former CNN White House correspondent, was who came to mind.
Sure enough, on his heels was none other than CNN political correspondent Dana Bash, their lead reporter for coverage of John McCain's campaign for the Presidency. The two sat down to wait for the flight; after a moment, Dana put her head tiredly on John's shoulder. (The two, I found out later, wed in May.)
I'm sure both are seasoned travelers, but apparently not well enough to choose the best seats on the little SkyWest Embraer 120 turboprop: King and Bash had been assigned the absolute back of the plane. (I, on the other hand, held the coveted 9C, an exit-row window seat with several feet of legroom--one of my favorite seats in the United fleet). In LAX, we all ended up on the same flight again: United 44, the red-eye to Washington-Dulles (yay for my upgrade finally clearing!)
I figured the pair were taking a well-earned vacation after the arduous election season; after all, Monterey is quite the destination for leisure travelers. However, I had wondered why the two looked exactly like they do on TV, down to well-coiffed hairdos, and after getting home and taking a brief nap, I found out why: John King had interviewed California "Governorator" Arnold at his home in the Monterey area, then flown back to Washington... where he went in to work after the red-eye to sit in for Wolf Blitzer's Sunday program. I don't know how TV personalities do it; I can barely function after a red-eye, and here King was on live television, apparently none-the-worse-for-wear.
And no, I am not a member of the celebrity-worship cult; I just found it interesting to share a flight with Mr. Magic Wall. I mean, when you have a Saturday Night Live skit making fun of your raison d'etre, you're somebody.
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