The Information Super-Frog

In 1978 I was attending Tulane University in New Orleans.

One day in the University Center, I smelled and saw someone smoking in the non-smoking section. Four men in dark suits were seated at a table with the smoking man, a stocky late middle aged guy in a sports-coat. They didn't look like faculty. Visiting relatives of a student, I guessed. There was a a ring of empty tables around them.

I walked up to them. The four men in dark suits straigtened up and watched as a approached, but the smoking man paid me no mind, continuing to talk to the others until I reached the group.

"Pardon me, sir," I said as he stopped short and turned to stare at me with at "WTF" expression. "You're in the non-smoking section, sir," I said gesturing to a clearly visible sign. No reply. Gesturing to my right I continued in a polite but firm tone, "I see there are plenty of free tables in the smoking section."

He straightened up in his chair and loudly snarled at me: "I'll do what I want! I'm the mayor around here! Get outta here!" The other men glowered at me.

I shrugged my sholders, turned, and walked away with a shake of my head. What a jerk, I thought to myself. What an absurd thing to say, "I'm the mayor around here"; I could tell he was neither Dutch Morial, the new mayor, nor former mayor Moon Landrieu.

As soon as I'd turned the corner to be out of the line of sight of the table, another man approached me and asked "Do you know who that is?"

"No."

( Read more... )