Goodreads asked Hello Charlie:

What mystery in your own life could be a plot for a book?

Hello Charlie I think it would be a very short story, but once Obama nearly knocked me off a sidewalk because he wasn’t looking where he was walking and was talking on his cellphone. This was before he was President and earlier in the day before he gave a speech at the Boston DNC. I came inches within running into his shoulder. I had every inclination to push him as it was a natural reaction to coming so close and nearly being knocked off the sidewalk. I honestly don’t even know if he saw what happened because he seemed so preoccupied.

I didn’t know who he was until I saw him later that evening on TV and my jaw just dropped. Later that evening, a friend said, “he’s going to be the President of the United States.”

I often wonder what would have happened if I had pushed him that day. Would the chain of events have unfolded differently? I wonder who he was talking with so intently outside the hotel they were staying at. I also wonder if he knew I was even there when it occurred.

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