Who / what is considered famous? I was once at a conference (in Vail, Colorado) and one of the keynote speakers needed a ride down to Denver airport (the old one). He was a big shot in our field – well published author, been on TV a lot, known as an intellectual—and we had a great time talking on the way down the mountain. But – you would never have heard of him. In my field, he was royalty, but not to the rest of the world. I ran into Newt Gingrich twice – once at an Outlet mall in North Georgia – he was waiting for his wife to finish ********* shopping. The second time was in hotel, waiting for the elevator, in the middle of nowhere Wisconsin. I shook Jimmy Carter’s hand once at a rally when he was running for president.