Celebrity Sighting at Union Square

Now, I know that people tend to get all gooey when they spot a celebrity, but I tend not to as a rule. I've run into some huge celebrities in my time -- legends, really -- so when I spot somebody who has a TV show or a CD out at the moment I don't consider it a big deal.

But I do want to write about the celebrity sighting I had yesterday morning, because it was a little puzzling. In fact, you could even say it was a mystery.

I'm at the Union Square subway station at around 9:00 A.M. Thursday morning. I'm on the uptown track waiting for the 4 or the 5 train. And as I'm walking towards the end of the platform (because it's easier to get a seat that way), I spot a young woman.

She looks familiar. She looks very familiar. She has a bottle of something (probably soda) in her hand and she's drinking from it -- probably through a straw but I wouldn't swear to it.

And who do you think it was?

It was Barbara Bush -- the daughter of the President of the United States.

I think she realized that I recognized her, because she gave me one of those "don't-fuck-with-me-asshole-I-have-pepper-spray-in-my-bag" kind of looks that make the women on the New York City subway system so cute and endearing.

But then I instantly started questioning my own perception.

Could it really have been Barbara Bush? After all, there wasn't a Secret Service agent in sight, and she was standing very close to the edge of the platform -- any whack job could have just pitched her in front of the incoming train and turned her into quacamole dip in about two seconds. Wouldn't they have been nearby and noticeable if she really was Bush's daughter?

Then I started wondering -- what if it had been Bush's daughter? Should I have gone up to her and said something? You know, something sweet that she could relay back to Dad the next time she stops by the White House for a family visit. Something along the lines of: "Your father is a total fucking disgrace and the worst president in the history of the country and he should resign before he gets impeached -- and take that douchebag Cheney with him."

But that's not really my style. After all, it's not her fault that her father's an asshole and a disgrace as a president -- and she shouldn't be held responsible for her family's misdeeds.

I'm still uncertain, though. What do you think -- is it possible that the woman I saw on the subway platform yesterday morning was indeed Barbara Bush? Is anybody in a position to confirm or deny this?

Tom Moran