Dusteemania: Is She For Real?
Oh ye of little faith! A number of you doubted the authenticity of the close encounter with Dustee Tucker that we passed along on Monday, from a tipster who claimed to have met her at Starbucks.
Truth be told, we did too. But we now have reason to believe that it was quite authentic, based on what appears to be email correspondence between Dustee and our source.
We now must ask: Is Dustee Tucker a real person? She seems superhumanly nice. She charms an entire Hawaiian resort . She's besties with the baristas at Starbucks. And she engages in pleasant email correspondence with a man who hit on her in a Starbucks -- instead of calling the police and/or seeking a temporary restraining order, which is what most women would do in her shoes.
After the jump, the correspondence -- which must be read to be believed...
Our tipster located Dustee's email address and sent her this message:
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From: [redacted]
Sent: 05/24/2006 07:55 AM
To: Dustee Tucker [email address redacted]
Subject: Remember me?
Hi Dustee,
Not sure if you remember me but I met you in Starbucks last weekend. Handsome, southern, and awe struck, ring a bell? I saw the Mavericks won their final playoff game so hopefully it has been a better week. Despite my efforts, I cant seem to get you out of my head so I was hoping we could revisit that request for your number. I am fairly certain I found it on the net but would like to get it directly from you.
My buddy said he saw you on the jumbotron at the Nats game. Was it really you?
[redacted]
And here's how she responded:
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From: Dustee Tucker
To: [redacted]
Date: Wed, 24 May 2006 09:29:36 -0400
Subject: Re: Remember me?
Hi there,
Just in case I had possibly forgotten our encounter, it has been forwarded to me about 40 times. I am sure Starbucks appreciates all that free publicity. You do have quite a memory and with the exception of that wink, I would say you got it just about word for word.
While I am sure that posting a play by play of your first meeting with most girls would charm them right out of their digits, I am not quite so easily persuaded. However, it was truly an experience I won't forget, and just in case I do, there is always Wonkette to remind me. These days those that have my number fall into two categories: friends with whom I have shared it with and those that I politely refer to as stalkers. Trust me, much better to be in that first category.
I have no doubt I will see you around town. In the mean time, keep cheering for the Mavs...despite a rough run, things are looking up.
All the best,
Dustee
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This is truly remarkable. Instead of telling the correspondent to "get a life," "stay the hell away from me," or "never contact me again," Dustee writes him a charming, witty message, in which she gently and deftly turns away his request for further contact. This kind of interpersonal skill comes along very rarely. Clearly Dustee is meant to have a long and successful career in politics.
Dustee Tucker restores our faith in humanity. Whenever you find yourself in a frustrating (or frightening) situation, just ask yourself, "WWDTD": "What would Dustee Tucker do?"