I apparently suffer from this condition.  I laughed for quite awhile over this incident.  I hope it brings a smile to your face, and the next time you do something embarrassing, you can remember me, and realize your situation is probably not all that embarrassing.  If anyone can beat this one, I'd sure love to hear about it!

I was due to meet,well,let's just call him "Bill", at a local casino.  I arrived about 15 minutes early and asked Bill to meet me at valet parking.  I stood just inside the casino and patiently waited for Bill to arrive.  He had sent me a photo of himself, so I thought that I should recognize him fairly easily.  

As I stood waiting, a gentlemen caught my eye and made a slight jerking motion with his head, motioning me over to him.  I didn't recognize him, but I thought that maybe I was mistaken and the person I had pictured in my mind was actually someone else.  I walked over to him, shook his hand, kissed his cheek, and said, "Hi, Bill.  It's nice to finally meet you."  

We walked away and Bill asked me if he could buy me dinner.  I'm thinking to myself..."You've only scheduled an hour appointment.  That doesn't leave any time for dinner."  I politely declined. I explained that I already had dinner plans and that maybe we could work it out next time we met (that, by the way, was true....I REALLY DID have dinner plans for later).  I said that since I was early, though, we could stop and have a drink and chat for awhile.  We found a bar in the back of the casino and sat down.  He ordered our drinks from the bar and we pleasantly passed some small talk while sipping our cocktails.  About 20 minutes into the conversation I was thinking that we should head upstairs.  However, Bill didn't seem interested in stopping the conversation and I decided to put off suggesting the move for a few more minutes.  

I finally asked Bill where he was from and he asked if I wanted the short or long version.  I'm thinking to myself, "We only have an hour.  Give me the short version."  He gives me the short version, and then I ask him, "What do you do for a living?"  He said, looking sort of puzzled, "I'm an orthodontist."  "Oh, really?", I say.  Needless to say the lights are still out on my part, but I think the lights were starting to come on for him.  "Are you Tonya?", he asks.  I'm thinking to myself, "I know you guys sometimes see us ladies one right after the other, but, good grief, I just told you my name when I arrived.  You'd think he might remember it for 20 minutes or so."  I said, "Uh, no.  I'm Mary."  

The lights were coming on for me now.  "Aren't you Bill?" I asked suspiciously.  "No", he replied.  

Full illumination.....I felt myself flush (I don't think the new neon stop lights could have out-shone my face!)  "OH MY GOD!!!! I'M WITH THE WRONG PERSON!!!"

I grabbed for my phone and, of course, had no cell site.  We started back to the front of the casino frantically trying to get the phones to work.  Then this stranger asked me what I did for a living.  Well.....we all know I had to dodge that bullet.....

All I could think was the real Bill was probably thinking I stood him up, or worse, was catching a 'quickie' before meeting him.  I finally got a site and called his room.  He wasn't there, so I left him a rather frantic message.  By this time, we had gotten back to valet, and patiently standing there, was the real Bill.....whom I immediately recognized from his photograph.  

I can't believe he had stood there waiting for nearly half an hour!  I quickly explained what happened.  Thankfully, Bill had a wonderful sense of humor and didn't hold my terminal blondeness against me!  

And for those of you who are wondering..... I more than made up for my blunder.  I stayed extra time to make up for being late because I was with the wrong man.
   

-- Modified on 12/14/2004 10:34:46 PM