Thursday, April 19, 2007

Kofi Annan - and you are ...?

An oversold crowd at the University of Colorado (@ the Coors Events Center) heard Kofi Annan speak last night. For the meaty stuff, read the newspapers. I'll just share with you his funny opening anecdote:

After stepping down from his function as U.N. secretary general in December, Annan and his wife decided to take a three months' break to get some rest. "Very few people knew where we were. We did not have an appointment list," he said.

"We tried to re-enter society as ordinary individuals and walking around incognito. That wasn't always easy. We've been places ... where someone sitting across the two of us, raises his voice, 'I would've sworn you are Kofi Annan! You look really like him. I can't believe it!' And you feel like saying, 'it's my twin brother!' so you can keep your cover. But it is not always easy.
"But one of the wonderful moments we had, we were in Italy and we walked into a newspaper shop to get the paper. I saw a group of them looking at us, and one of them approached us and said, 'Now I know, I know who you are ... Morgan Freeman! May I have an autograph?' So I said, 'sure.' I signed K Freeman. He was happy, I was happy. Two Italian security fellows were looking at me from the distance told me 'we were also very happy. We have no work to do. You are not in town. Only Morgan Freeman is here!'"

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