It took me about 20 minutes to realize I was sitting right next to super star snowboarder Maëlle Ricker this afternoon in Edgemont Village.

This was doubly embarrassing considering she’d actually stopped to talk to me, inquiring about the camera I had mounted to a park bench. See, I was experimenting with shooting some time lapse photography with my GoPro camera, and I was sitting there, with the camera, when she walked by to grab the adjacent outdoor table.

She asked about the camera and mentioned she’d seen quite a few of them.  I, like a dope, totally didn’t realize who she was – and blathered on about a project I’m doing for one of my clients, and how I needed to experiment a bit with the time lapse feature on the camera.   She sat down to meet with her friend, and I sat with my coffee and muffin.

I didn’t meant to eaves drop – but they were sitting right next to me, and as I sat there, I realized that I recognized the voice.

Where Do I Know That Voice ?

It’s probably because of a long career in radio, but I always lock in on people’s voices and vocal patterns.

In any event, it finally dawned on me, remembering her countless interviews after her amazing success at the Olympics.

So now what ?

I eventually got up and got her and her friend a glass of water from inside Delaney’s (it was hot this afternoon).

I offered them each a glass, with an awkward: “Um, I feel really silly, but I just realized who you are. I recognized your voice. Here’s some water”.

I’m pretty anyone else would have run screaming the other way, but they took in in stride, and after their meeting ended, I asked if I could get a picture with her. She didn’t even hesitate.

I didn’t have my Nikon with me, so used the GoPro to take the picture.

We had a lovely chat – she’s very very nice – and that makes her even a bigger super star in my books.