It all started with an untimely meeting in an airport lounge in Dallas, one person on a stop over and the other one on a go under flight. Both couldn't appear less matched for the conversation that would follow. But I am getting ahead of myself.

Into the lounge comes personified excentricity wearing a pink and blue closed leatherjacket over a black and white chessboarded miniskirt - yes, she is a female -  which reveals pink stockings ending in light blue high heels which command all the acousic attention. Above the jacket the main attractions are huge elton-johnish glasses covering most of the face and on top of that some kind of impossible blond hair ondulation.

While her entourage shields her from possible disturbances, she lets herself glide into one of the comfortable lounge chairs, as it happens, next to an older man with white hair and moustache who had been watching the unfolding scene with amused and curious eyes. No entourage around him, she had taken the stage anyway.

"Hi," she greeted him friendly while stretching out a hand."I am Lady Gaga", she said in a matter of fact tone.
 
"Einstein," he said, "Albert Einstein", while shaking her hand, still with a glimmer of amusement in his clear eyes.

She looked stunned. "THAT Einstein!? .... Wow! That is UN - REAL!"

"Well, if you know what is un-real you probably also know what is REAL?",  Einstein smiled.

"For starters, you look exactly like on this famous photo, with your white hair gong in all directions, just that you are not sticking your tongue out."

"So comparing me right now with a photo you saw in a magazine or elsewhere is something real? "

Lady Gaga started fidgeting a bit with her glasses, and her folded legs made some restless moves.

"Well, yes, I guess, I can see you, and I think I can trust my senses, can't I?"

"Did you ever hear  the sounds of whales and dolphins?" Einstein gently tried to drive his point home.

"Yes, of course, they sound great, and you know that planets make sounds, too?"

"My point exactly: you never heard any of that, neither did I or anybody else. All those sounds you mentioned were transposed into our range of hearing. Some clever scientists and technologists developed instruments to make them accessible to us. Neither did we ever see an atom, a molecule or anything inside them if it were'nt for high tech microscopes. So everything we know about our DNA, we never perceived through our senses."

Einstein had become serious, yet still relaxed. There was a little pause filled only by a growing nervousness of Lady Gaga. Something was nagging inside her.

After a while  the doubts that had built up inside expressed themselves.

"I think that is true then also for stars, galaxies, black holes and shit? We can't really see any of that, can we? "

"Indeed, without the Hubble telescope we'd have a hard time . . . . Nor can we look into the deep sea . So what does all this tell you about REALITY? It appears that reality is what we know AND what we don't know. Rather disquieting, don't you think?"

He smiled another not devious, rather quite compassionate smile.

Small pause.

"Unless we expand our senses big time ... I guess I have to agree." Lady Gaga was a real sport, still fidgeting with one leg and one hand.

"Flight 762 to Rome ready to board!" the loudspeakers blared.

As if it were her cue she exclaimed:

"Oh, I guess I have to catch my plane! Nice meeting you . . .!" And off she went, leaving a trail of stardust behind her.

Einstein rather absent-minded waved into the disappearing aura while undergoing a transformation into a butterfly.

And so this meeting at the edge of reality came to end.