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Who is the most famous person you have ever met? (1 Viewer)

Walter Payton numerous times. I was in the same grade as his son, Jarrett, at different schools, but we played against each other several times since we were in the same conference. Nicest guy ever. I also went to the same church as Ditka for many years.

 
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Trey Anastasio from Phish. By far the nicest. He used to shop at a record store I managed. Super friendly, down to Earth guy and he always bought the coolest, most off the wall ####. I've always felt bad that I can't stand his music.

Bernie Sanders. Didn't like him before I met him and talked to him and still don't.
Pure Pop? You sound like a Burlington guy. In the 90s you’d see a dorky guy roller blading around downtown and it was Trey. And Bernie was a guy you’d cross the street to avoid. I’m a supporter but such a strident and abrasive personality

For me, it’s Clinton when he was President and came to an event I organized at the DC foundation where I worked 

Also, to my dismay, I was pretty close friends with Tucker Carlson in college. Let’s just say he’s always been libertarian when it comes to drug legalization 

 
Went to grammar and high school with Nancy Pelosi's son.

A neighbor was Robin Williams.

Would often see athletes when out and about: Ronnie Lott, Mark McGuire, Will Clark

Sammy Hagar

Sylvester Stallone

Cameron Diaz

Cheryl Crow/Lance Armstrong

Joe Sakic

Todd Helton

Very nice conversations on several occasions with jake plummer.

Jeff Fisher and several Rams

Snoop Dog

Dan Aykroyd 
Tiburon?

 
I have met lots of athletes and politicians. Al Franken is probably the answer.  Although I have met Klobuchar, so if she pulls out the presidential election,  her.

 
You didn't ask but channeled part of my odd encounter with .... Read to find out.

August 1998. 

I was being moved within my company from Washington State to Colorado, a van took my furniture and most bulky things but I had all of my most expensive and important things were in my car including 82 pages of an unfinished movie script I had started.  In addition to all of my things that morning I had dropped off an old college buddy at the Seattle airport but he forgot his Naval dress whites in my car so I had to keep an eye on my car.

It was nearly 2:00 PM and I had been driving since 6:00 AM.  It was 103 degrees and my contacts were sticking to my eyeballs, I was dehydrated and was on verge of heat stroke and I hadn't eaten anything since the Continental breakfast at 5:30 that morning so I pulled over to a red diner that only had ONE CAR in the parking lot and all of the shades pulled down except for the corner booth.

I parked in front of that booth and went in and saw ONE GUY with his backed turned to the counter facing the corner booth that I had to sit at so I could keep an eye on my car.

I got my food and the guy violently turned with BUG EYES as I got within four feet and he stared daggers in me as I sat facing him and my car out the window.

Two minutes he just GLARED at me.  I got flustered and the heat stroke set in, my mouth was too dry to even attempt eating my burger as my stomach churned.  It was soo uncomfortable so I just looked down and slowly sipped my drink and plucked at my fries.  After two more minutes I looked up and he was STILL STARING. 

I immediately looked down  again but got mad and thought.  'Screw him, I used to win staring contests as a kid.  I'll just STARE HIM DOWN.'

I looked up and firmly challenged him but was soo weak and tired I collapsed and just meekly dropped my head and didn't  dare look up for the next 8 minutes before I took a peak and his demeanor had completely changed.

He wasn't glaring at me any longer, he was sitting back relaxed and had his arms up around his booth sipping his drink causally looking at me like he wanted to talk to me.  I tried to speak but couldn't  because my mouth was still too dry and my stomach was upset so I put my head down again but looked up after only a minute and this time the guy was leaning forward in my direction giving me a friendly smile like he was saying hey I know you know who I am and I'd like to talk to you but I still could not find my voice.  I tried to speak but couldn't.

This went on for another fifteen minutes until he slowly stood up and bussed his own table as he kept looking at me in a friendly manner, almost like he was saying.  'This is your chance to talk if you want to.'  I just couldn't speak.

He went to the counter and said goodbye to the kids and got to the door and took one last look at me and shook his head as walked out the door.

Just then all three people behind the counter said in unison.

"I can't believe STEVEN  SPIELBERG  was here."

It was Spielberg and Saving Private Ryan came out that week and I was dying to see it.  

I counted and it was 22 minutes of silence between me and Steven Spielberg.  
Super creepy. :loco:  

 
Last October, I was eating at a diner in Midtown Manhattan when Morley Safer came in and sat down right next to me. While he was waiting for his order, we talked a little about current events, the weather, and stuff like that – small talk mostly. It was really neat, that is until I looked up his Wikipedia page later and found out that Morley Safer had died in 2016...
:lmao:   :lmao:   :lmao:  

 
I have met Ronald Reagan, George Bush Sr, Bob Dole, Dan Quayle, Bill Parcells, Bill Belichick, Sam Wyche, Willie Nelson, Kris Kristofferson, John Mellencamp, Charles Barkley, Isiah Thomas, Reggie Miller, Hakeem Olajuwan, Michael Franti, Mark Gastineau, Brigitte Nielsen, Larry Bird, Jerry West,  Lee Corso, Johnny Bench, John Havlicek, Lou Reed, Brian Bosworth. Most of them were a simple handshake.  A few others were conversations, and couple of them I knew pretty well.  There are many more famous people that I have met, or know (that most everyone’s heard of), but these would be the biggest names. 

 
Back in the mid 90s I flew on our corporate jet from Nebraska to Maryland.  (I was in IT and hitching a ride with some execs to do some work in our office).  We landed at a small executive airport in Maryland.  I was in the small airport bathroom taking a leak and a dude walked up to the urinal next to me.  I glance over at him (his face) and did a triple take.  Taking a leak next to me was Billy Joel.  He was shorter than I expected (height).   So Billy Joel and I pissed next to each other.  

 
Dr. J  I'd finished a workout at my healthclub and got in the sauna, and Dr. J was sitting in there too, chatting with an older club member.  Sixers were in Chicago the day before a game, and team members were at my club to loosen up/whatever on their night off.  After showering, as I was toweling off, Dr. J came by and I said "Hey, Doctor."  "Yeah, man." "Who do you like in NCAA final four this weekend?"  He mentions a couple of teams, but stops to ask "who do you like?"  I mentioned a team, and he acknowledges.  Of course, the team I mentioned ended up getting blown out by like 30 points.  Really nice guy.

Arthur Levitt, former head of the SEC.  I was on the planning team for a national treasury conference, and Levitt was the kickoff, morning speaker, so we all had breakfast with him.  Lots of our group were asking a bunch of econ/business/treasury questions, and he seemed totally bored, so I asked him about his family.  He really lit up then as he talked about them.  Turns out his son, Art Levitt, had recently taken a position as CEO of Fandango.

Betsy DeVos, Secretary of Education.  She and I were buddies in college.  I also grew up (school and church) with her husband, **** DeVos.  The DeVos and VanAndel families (founders of Amway) both went to our church, and my siblings and I were similar ages to their second generation.  Betsy was really friendly, if totally unqualified for her current job.  All the DeVos and VanAndels were/are wonderful, generous people.

Greg Meyer, last American to win the Boston marathon before Meb did recently.  He was at another local high school, but we didn't meet at the cross-country ..meets.  In recent years (many years, now, past his Boston win), he's been at some race expos, so we've met and talked about the high school days.  He also happens to work at a sister Catholic university, and he's invited me to call him for lunch if I'm back in Grand Rapids.

My wife blew the chance to meet Brad Pitt.  He was in our town to film scenes for one of the Ocean's movies.  She was leaving work in our residential neighborhood, but the car was having some ignition problems.  Limo pulls up behind, and the driver asks if she can pull forward a bit.  She starts ranting and raving about the car problem and the fact that her husband hadn't gotten it fixed yet.  Pitt gets out of the limo to see what's going on.  She soon gets the car started and leaves.  I ask her if she talked to Pitt.  She says no - she was too angry about the car situation.  

 
A bunch of politicians. John Glenn was the only one that awed me.

For entertainers, probably George Clinton.

Did a lot of charity events with a bunch of Baltimore/DC sports legends back in the day. Most were of the crab feast/bull roast variety where rich folks would pay $1,000 to eat at a picnic table with John Unitas, Lenny Moore, Wes Unseld, Brooks Robinson, etc..... We would be the free labor in setting stuff up or serving, but then could go mingle and grab any open seats.

I always tried to sit at Brooks' table, because Chuck Thompson (play-by-play guy for the Orioles and Colts) would be there. He had this deep, booming voice and was hilarious. Unseld would be at their table a lot, too - chainsmoking while he was eating.

The funniest episode from those events I can remember is..... I was serving pit beef with Gino Marchetti (who was also a riot). At one point, I hear him say "Oh, Jesus Christ". He looks at me and says "you get the next one" and he kind of gets busy doing something else. I look up and Artie Donovan is standing there with 4 Schlitz's in one hand and an empty plate in the other. Most people would have rolls to put the beef on, but Donovan didn't - just the plate. So I put enough on his plate that I figured would make up two sandwiches. Donovan looks at me like I had lost my mind. I put some more om there and he's just staring at me. Finally, Marchetti comes over and puts the whole butt we had been carving from on the plate. Donovan busts out laughing and says "have a beer". He gives me one of the Schlitz's in his hand - the open one he'd been drinking from.

 
I used to go to a lot of science fiction conventions.  Ran into Majel Barrett, James Doohan, Spider Robinson, Bob Aspirin, Kelly Freas, Gordon Dickson, Katherine Kurtz, and Ted Sturgeon among others.

And Isaac Asimov.

 
Dr. J  I'd finished a workout at my healthclub and got in the sauna, and Dr. J was sitting in there too, chatting with an older club member.  Sixers were in Chicago the day before a game, and team members were at my club to loosen up/whatever on their night off.  After showering, as I was toweling off, Dr. J came by and I said "Hey, Doctor."  "Yeah, man." "Who do you like in NCAA final four this weekend?"  He mentions a couple of teams, but stops to ask "who do you like?"  I mentioned a team, and he acknowledges.  Of course, the team I mentioned ended up getting blown out by like 30 points.  Really nice guy.

Arthur Levitt, former head of the SEC.  I was on the planning team for a national treasury conference, and Levitt was the kickoff, morning speaker, so we all had breakfast with him.  Lots of our group were asking a bunch of econ/business/treasury questions, and he seemed totally bored, so I asked him about his family.  He really lit up then as he talked about them.  Turns out his son, Art Levitt, had recently taken a position as CEO of Fandango.

Betsy DeVos, Secretary of Education.  She and I were buddies in college.  I also grew up (school and church) with her husband, **** DeVos.  The DeVos and VanAndel families (founders of Amway) both went to our church, and my siblings and I were similar ages to their second generation.  Betsy was really friendly, if totally unqualified for her current job.  All the DeVos and VanAndels were/are wonderful, generous people.

Greg Meyer, last American to win the Boston marathon before Meb did recently.  He was at another local high school, but we didn't meet at the cross-country ..meets.  In recent years (many years, now, past his Boston win), he's been at some race expos, so we've met and talked about the high school days.  He also happens to work at a sister Catholic university, and he's invited me to call him for lunch if I'm back in Grand Rapids.

My wife blew the chance to meet Brad Pitt.  He was in our town to film scenes for one of the Ocean's movies.  She was leaving work in our residential neighborhood, but the car was having some ignition problems.  Limo pulls up behind, and the driver asks if she can pull forward a bit.  She starts ranting and raving about the car problem and the fact that her husband hadn't gotten it fixed yet.  Pitt gets out of the limo to see what's going on.  She soon gets the car started and leaves.  I ask her if she talked to Pitt.  She says no - she was too angry about the car situation.  
Just glanced at this really quick and thought it read "My wife blew Brad Pitt" :D

 
me and Steven Spielberg.  
Super creepy. :loco:  
A few details.

When I stopped I had a choice between the 'seemingly' empty diner in the blazing sun or a super busy fast food joint acrsoss the street in the shade that was jam packed with parents and kids screaming and running around.  I just couldn't handle a crowd in my weakened condition.

Also the car I had at the time had no AC and it must have been 115 to 120 inside my car.  I was in bad shape when I finally pulled over.

When I entered  the diner and  saw ONE GUY with his back turned to the counter it was crystal clear he did NOT want anyone sitting by or near him.  I had worked a job up in Alaska with violent and 'differently' socialed people so I had experience having to barge into deeply defended personal space but was worn  down by the road and heat stroke.

Basically he was saying 'stay away'  but I had  no idea who it was until he whipped his head around and I would normally never get near that sort of vibe but had to sit in that booth that faced him.

I think he must have thought I recognized him and was some  sort of fan boy but when he saw I wasn't going to bother him he felt bad and was reaching out in a friendly and cool way but his initial reaction freaked me out.  I was looking to only spend a half hour eating and resting/getting a second wind for a long drive up to Glacier National Park but wound up spending two hours trying to recuperate but I don't blame Spielberg.  Just caught him at a bad time.

 
I shook hands with Jerry Jones. I've spoken with Aikman and Deion. I shook hands with Larry Mcmurtry, author of Lonesome Dove and The Last Picture Show. George W Bush walked past me surrounded by secret service while he was govenor of Texas.

 
Can't really think of any. Do enjoy hearing everyone else's stories though. Please keep them coming. The more details the better. 

 
Paul Rudd - nightclub Halloween party about a decade ago

Harry Caray - family had connections to Cubs(I met most of the cubs in the late 80s early 90s)

George Bush Jr. - political fundraiser

 
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Charles Barkley.  When I was in college, I worked at a jewelry store near where he grew up in Leeds, Alabama.  He was buying 2 Rolex watches for his mother and grandmother.  Of course the manager was the one working with him, but when he went to the back, Barkley yelled to me "Bring 2 chairs up to the front".  So being 19 I did of course, and we sat at the front of the store giving thumbs up or thumbs down to the girls walking by.  The wife of one of the people who worked at the store was walking towards us, and I jumped up real quick and said "Hey, he's in the back of the store if you need him".  She would not have fared well on our rating scale. After she walked in, Barkley grabbed me by both shoulders and started shaking me and said "Man you saved me, she was getting a thumbs down!" 

He was a huge star, but was a very genuine down to earth guy.  Lots of laughing, talked to everybody.

 
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Charles Barkley.  When I was in college, I worked at a jewelry store near where he grew up in Leeds, Alabama.  He was buying 2 Rolex watches for his mother and grandmother.  Of course the manager was the one working with him, but when he went to the back, Barkley yelled to me "Bring 2 chairs up to the front".  So being 19 I did of course, and we sat at the front of the store giving thumbs up or thumbs down to the girls walking by.  The wife of one of the people who worked at the store was walking towards us, and I jumped up real quick and said "Hey, he's in the back of the store if you need him".  She would not have fared well on our rating scale. After she walked in, Barkley grabbed me by both shoulders and started shaking me and said "Man you saved me, she was getting a thumbs down!" 

He was a huge star, but was a very genuine down to earth guy.  Lots of laughing, talked to everybody.
When I reffed Scotty Brooks Summer League game in Newport Beach,  he said Charled let him stay at his place his last year with the Sixers.   Said he would do anything for anyone at anytime, and often picked up the entire bar tab for all when they went out.  

 
Pure Pop? You sound like a Burlington guy. In the 90s you’d see a dorky guy roller blading around downtown and it was Trey. And Bernie was a guy you’d cross the street to avoid. I’m a supporter but such a strident and abrasive personality

For me, it’s Clinton when he was President and came to an event I organized at the DC foundation where I worked 

Also, to my dismay, I was pretty close friends with Tucker Carlson in college. Let’s just say he’s always been libertarian when it comes to drug legalization 
Burlington, yes - but I managed the Coconuts store at the junction of Rtes. 7 and 187. Trey would shop with us because there were fewer people there and most weren't college kids. He could shop without being bothered (most days, anyway) which he could never do at Pure Pop.

That's a perfect description of Bernie. I felt like he was grilling me on my positions instead of vice versa. It was more than a little off-putting.

 
Burlington, yes - but I managed the Coconuts store at the junction of Rtes. 7 and 187. Trey would shop with us because there were fewer people there and most weren't college kids. He could shop without being bothered (most days, anyway) which he could never do at Pure Pop.

That's a perfect description of Bernie. I felt like he was grilling me on my positions instead of vice versa. It was more than a little off-putting.
Lol. I would literally avoid him at the polls on Election Day because instead of courteously asking for your vote, he’d yell at you and tell you that you were corrupt if you voted for someone else. No exaggeration 

 
Obama. Worked on both his presidential campaigns. There's a photo somewhere on the internet of him recognizing me and pointing me out in some bleachers.

 
I sat next to Paul Warfield on a flight from Austin to Orlando. I didn't recognize him but he had his HOF ring on so I googled it to figure out it was him. He was working for the Browns at the time so we chatted about that.

 
Charles Barkley.  When I was in college, I worked at a jewelry store near where he grew up in Leeds, Alabama.  He was buying 2 Rolex watches for his mother and grandmother.  Of course the manager was the one working with him, but when he went to the back, Barkley yelled to me "Bring 2 chairs up to the front".  So being 19 I did of course, and we sat at the front of the store giving thumbs up or thumbs down to the girls walking by.  The wife of one of the people who worked at the store was walking towards us, and I jumped up real quick and said "Hey, he's in the back of the store if you need him".  She would not have fared well on our rating scale. After she walked in, Barkley grabbed me by both shoulders and started shaking me and said "Man you saved me, she was getting a thumbs down!" 

He was a huge star, but was a very genuine down to earth guy.  Lots of laughing, talked to everybody.
You can tell Chuck is a genuine guy. Huge fan. Happy to hear that 

 
If it's the one who won Super Bowl 3- then yes, that was him.  It was just prior to the incident on air where he tried to kiss the reporter.  To gain a little perspective, it was a night with thunderstorm delays and flights were several hours behind.  The alcohol was flowing and everyone was making it a party.  He was very much the life of that party and everyone had a good time.  I said he was getting hammered, but it might have been just very well lit.
speaking of airplanes.... :whoosh:   :lol:  

Walter Payton numerous times. I was in the same grade as his son, Jarrett, at different schools, but we played against each other several times since we were in the same conference. Nicest guy ever.
Sat with Jarrett and his sister at my cousin's wedding.  Not sure how they knew my cousin but there they were.  I told them their pops was one of my favorites.  Good kids.

 
I used to go to a lot of science fiction conventions.  Ran into Majel Barrett, James Doohan, Spider Robinson, Bob Aspirin, Kelly Freas, Gordon Dickson, Katherine Kurtz, and Ted Sturgeon among others.

And Isaac Asimov.
How was Spider Robinson?

Really liked his books. 

 
Dave Grohl at Funland in Rehoboth Beach, DE about 7 years ago.

Amazingly down to earth super nice guy.  Had his family there and was just riding the rides like he did with his family when he was a kid.  Wanted them to have a “normal-ish” upbringing.
Grohl's niece lives in Baltimore and used to have a crush on my son in 8th or 9th grade. One summer we were down at the Delaware shore the same week as her family and she invited my son over to hang out. He didn't like her and said no, but then she said Dave was staying with them and they could meet if he came over. So he thought about it but ultimately declined because he'd feel bad about accepting her invitation not to see her, but only to meet her rock star uncle. I told him she knew what she was doing when she put the bait out there, but also respected his stance.

 
Grohl's niece lives in Baltimore and used to have a crush on my son in 8th or 9th grade. One summer we were down at the Delaware shore the same week as her family and she invited my son over to hang out. He didn't like her and said no, but then she said Dave was staying with them and they could meet if he came over. So he thought about it but ultimately declined because he'd feel bad about accepting her invitation not to see her, but only to meet her rock star uncle. I told him she knew what she was doing when she put the bait out there, but also respected his stance.
Good values, whether or not innate or acquired through parenting. Mom's side, of course. :D

 
tiger, kobe, prince, magic, tom cruise, arnold, bruce willis :shrug:   there are many more.  helps growing up in LA and being deep in the club scene, in the 80's

 
The younger brother of the crown prince of Denmark, prince Joachim twice. Had an opportunity to shake hands with his mom and older brother at a different thing later but declined.

 
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tiger, kobe, prince, magic, tom cruise, arnold, bruce willis :shrug:   there are many more.  helps growing up in LA and being deep in the club scene, in the 80's
Sigh, growing up behind the Orange Curtain did not afford the same kinds of opportunities.  I guess I could have ventured north but was not much of a partier anyways.

 
Sat with Jarrett and his sister at my cousin's wedding.  Not sure how they knew my cousin but there they were.  I told them their pops was one of my favorites.  Good kids.
Went to an NFL awards banquet in Chicago in a year when Walter Payton was named player of the year.  For his acceptance speech, all he talked about was the recent birth of his son, Jarrett ...nothing about himself.  Great guy.

 
In 2004, I was still working as a doorman at the club in downtown Houston.  The Super Bowl was in town and one of the big parties was at our place.  Supposedly it was called MVP and they said that Tiger, Jeter and Jordan ran it or whatever.  Not exactly sure.  But it was a party that was only celebrities.  The police officer who worked at the club with us, grabbed us credentials and snuck us in the back.  The front door was a red carpet and was littered with paparazzi and metal bleachers for people to watch.  So we couldn't go in that way.  Once we got in, it became very apparent (to everyone) that we were the only people in that place who weren't famous.  It was pretty awesome.  We would just walk up to people and start having normal conversations with them and they were like super famous.  And they talked back to us like we were people of clout, too.  Still makes me laugh.  

At one point, I peeked my head out to say hi to my buddy working the door and camera flashes went off non stop.  I'm sure they were looking at those pictures of me trying to figure out who the hell this guy was.  :lol:

I don't remember everyone, but pretty much every ESPN personality was there.  Didn't matter the sport.  I remember Joe Morgan complimented me for my GF's body.  Awkward, but funny.  Both Manning brothers were there, but I didn't know who Eli was.  It was only after I realized.  Can't remember any others.  Just remember a lot of huge guys being there.  Didn't know names, but they were definitely football players.  

I met a lot of famous people working there, but that was the coolest single encounter.  

 
I was in Cincinnati to see the chargers play the bengals…..Doug Flutie walked right past me on the street, I just shook his hand and kept going, this was 2002

 
I met Ronnie Lott once as a kid.  My mom took me to an autograph signing.  When we got to the front of the line, he started flirting heavily with my mom.  It didn't go anywhere because my mom was too shy and it was too close to when my dad had passed.  But I ended up getting an awesome personalized autograph (other kids just got his name on the photo).  

I still give my mom crap for not making Ronnie Lott my stepdad.  

 
Either Khalil Mack or George Wendt.  Both are really nice guys.  They probably weigh the same too.

 
I met Ronnie Lott once as a kid.  My mom took me to an autograph signing.  When we got to the front of the line, he started flirting heavily with my mom.  It didn't go anywhere because my mom was too shy and it was too close to when my dad had passed.  But I ended up getting an awesome personalized autograph (other kids just got his name on the photo).  

I still give my mom crap for not making Ronnie Lott my stepdad.  
:thumbup: Had some drinks with Ronnie in a bar in Los Gatos where my friend was a bar tender. 

 
Bill Clinton a few times but when he was still governor is probably most famous.  Little Rock police played the state police in a football game every year and my pee wee team played at halftime. At one point I went to the bathroom and it was just me and Bill in the bathroom together. I was 9,  I told him I'd met him on a tour of the state capital the year before and actually took a minute to chat with me despite no one being around, not doing it for show.

Have met, had a drink or two, shook hands with a ton of famous athletes in Dallas topless bars over the years. Feels wrong to start naming them, don't want people naming me like that.

Most famous person I spent much time with was Anne Hathaway in Las Vegas several years ago. My company likes to have a big time in Vegas and will usually procure the best table at XS, big time club in Encore for those that don't know. We got a bouncer that works our table for us and he'll round up women and and that kind of thing since we got an awesome table, free drinks, etc. One year he rounded up Anne Hathaway and some friends. She partied with us for hours. Super humble. I was pretty hammered but frankly did not know it was her for about an hour until someone asked if I'd met Anne and I was like "Anne" who?

ETA- I completely forgot I got a friend who was an ex-NFL player. He's not famous but he played enough years in the league to get an invite to players only super bowl party. He's invited me a few times but I only went once, in New Orleans in 2001.  Met so many celebs that night it's hard to keep them straight. Tons of ex NFL players, Evander Holyfield, Snoop, P Diddy, Mariah Carey are main ones I made a point to at least meet. Wanda Sykes hung out with me and my friend for hours.

 
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