A Lyrical Encounter

Whit Jones, a student activist with ReEnergize Iowa, says his girlfriend Claire is a "huge Ben Folds fan." So imagine their surprise when they were driving through downtown Des Moines on June 18 and they spotted the former Ben Folds Five frontman, above, walking down the street. After a behind-the-wheel maneuver that Whit describes as "not life endangering, but certainly worthy of a ticket," the two pulled up to a stop light, waved Folds over, shook his hand, and gave him a ReEnergize Iowa flyer. That evening, at a concert with Texas rocker John Mayer, Folds recounted their chance meeting and told the crowd it had inspired him to write a song—whereupon the band struck up a groove and Folds began singing lyrics directly off the flyer, promoting an August 1-5 march for clean energy from Ames to Des Moines. Watch a video of that performance, and read Sierra Student Coalition organizer Joe Richie's full account of Whit and Claire's serendipitous meeting with Folds.