meeting

Our family was in the elevator going up to the third floor to visit my Great Aunt Madge. She lived in the same downtown Salt Lake City apartment building as many members of the LDS church's leaders. On this particular day when the doors opened on Madge's floor we found ourselves face-to-face with Elder Faust, a favorite member of the three-man triumvirate that sits just below the Prophet of the church.

So when we met up with Elder Faust we greeted him warmly, reaching out our hands for his hearty handshake. John, perhaps carried away a bit with the thrill of meeting a revered leader (for those of you not LDS, it would be akin to running into the Dalai Lama or Pope Benedict--ok, maybe just slightly less well-known). Anyways, so John had a mild slip o' the tongue when he addressed Elder Faust, saying:

"So good to see you Dr. Faustus."

Can I just say that I almost peed my pants right then and there. I wanted to laugh, but I knew I couldn't. I had this sense that Elder Faust didn't hear exactly what John said so I didn't dare acknowledge it. So I did a lot of dry-coughing and throat-clearing as we stepped away from Elder Faust and the elevator doors closed behind us.

[Note: As John and I are reviewing this story just now, he's insisting that he said "Dr. Faust" and not "Faustus." Yah. right.]