Breakfasting with VIPs

Today, I had the honor of sharing breakfast with two very important business people. One, a woman of twenty-six who works in sucker acquisitions (more on that in a moment), and the other, a thirty-year-old male creator of websites with a focus on fictional galactic characters.

The scene went something like this:

The attractive blonde sits with a furrowed brow, staring at her computer, alternating bites of applecrunch muffin with vigorous typing spells.

"So, what kind of work do you do?" I ask.

"Well, I go and get money from people, and then I take it to my boss, and he takes it the bank, and the bank makes suckers, and they give him the suckers, and he brings them back for everybody."

"So, you're in sucker acquisitions." I reply.
"Yes," she says hestitantly, with a modest half-grin.

"Do they make the suckers at the bank?"
"Yes."
"And how long have you done this job?" I ask.
"For forty-nine years."

"Wow! You're seventy-four? You look awfully young for seventy-four."
"No, I'm not that old!"
"Well, most people don't get such a good job like that until they're about twenty-five, after they've gone to college."
"Well....I've only worked there for a year."

Oh, ok. I understand now. "So you're twenty-six."
"Yes." She focuses hard on the small screen of the blue-and-red laptop, which is repeatedly requesting loudly that she type the letter that begins the word "cat." She responds to the metallic voice, attacking the keyboard with vehement zeal.

I leave her to her pressing task and address my other guest.
"And how old are you, sir?"
He suppresses an amused grin and responds,
"Thirty."

"And what do you do for a living?"
"I create websites about Star Wars. My website is Anakin Skywalker dot com."
"I see."

"This is my computer," he says, pointing to a small felt change purse the size of a deck of cards.
I am impressed.
"Wow, that's a small computer."
"Yes. Here's my website, see?" he says, deftly typing on the miniscule keyboard.

"So people pay you to build websites about Star Wars?" I ask.
"Yes. Actually, the reason it's called 'Anakin Skywalker dot com' is because I'm him. My name is Anakin Skywalker."
"Well, that's very interesting. It's nice to talk with you, Mr. Skywalker."
He smiles and returns to his muffin and milk.

My colleague, the fourth member in our distinguished party, has been silent throughout the meal, except for a few unintelligible bursts. Now he is studying the cranberries in his muffin, chewing with his mouth open, still grasping with one hand the spoon that had been in his cereal.
I decide this would not be the appropriate moment to ask him about his work.

All in all, a very interesting meal. :)