These are the thoughts of a Texas transplant in West Michigan who makes his living as a newspaper reporter by evening, and a struggling novelist by day.

Tuesday, December 15, 2009

small world or coincidence

so yesterday i went into the offices of latin americans united fo progress to inquire about helping a student group. i went in but found that bert was not in. raquel was there. i'd met her several times.before and even interviewed her for an article for the newspaper back in february or march.

when i spoke to a student group about a month and a half ago, i told the group i worked in alice, texas. rachel was at the meeting. she told me her parents lived in alice and she knew the town well. i thought, hmm, small world.

little did i know.


so she gets this excited expression on her face and says all of a sudden, "you interviewed my father." i was perplexed. i didn't know who her father was.

she tells me i interviewed her father when i worked in alice for the alice echo news, either in 2001 04 2002 or 2003. she tells me his name was ramon herrera. it rang a bell waaaay back in my head. then she begins to tell me he was a brick layer and he helped build several buildings around alice.

as she talked i began to remember the story. he wa a 99-year-old man at the time of the article. i remember chatting with him about his work.

so she tells me she has the article and even has pictures of me while i interviewed her father. me with my tape recorder. she's supposed to get me a copy of the article.

now, what are the chances that i'd met someone in holland that is related to someone in alice that i interviewed for an article for that newspaper? i'd say the chances are slim.

conversely, my wife dawn met a woman in alice while she taught there who inquired about her surname. when she said, permesang, the laday said, i knew your father. turns out she had been a teacher's assitant for dawn's dad back when he taught here in holland. now that was odd, too.

this world is too small. you can't really hide because someone will find you wherever you are hiding. as for me, i do enjoy these moments of connection. they blow my mind.