What's your Small World Story?

I was chatting with my friend Debbie who writes`at The Friday Friends about chance encounters that make you say, what a small world. That led me to thinking of other stories I've heard as well as bizarre moments in our lives.

OK, my best Small World story. I tagged along on one of my husband’s business trips which was in Ocala Florida (that is 185 miles south of our home). Sitting at the hotel bar was another couple who nodded at us as we took our seats and ordered. The TV flashed up some baseball scores and I asked, to anyone in general, “Did anyone see the score for the Phillies game?”

The lady across from me looks up and asks, “Are you from Philly?” I say, “Well, a very small suburb south, you wouldn’t have heard of it. Brookhaven.”

She says, “Brookhaven?! I am from Upland!” This is amazing because it’s where I tromped around, my Nana lived there, I went to school in the attached borough, know the place very well.

“I am doing genealogy research there,”she says.

‘Hey, I have loads of info on Upland,” I volunteer. My cousin still lives there, and blah, blah blah.”

Then the lady says, “My cousin Gail lives there too.” I say, “Gail….my cousin’s name is Gail. Gail XYZ.”

Turns out – me and the lady at the bar are cousins! She calls our cousin Gail and we are passing the phone around. We have the same great grandfather and start comparing notes. Wild! A chance meeting because neither of us were in our home city. She lived further south, just staying one night from her home 200 miles south of Ocala. Truly this is a chance encounter.

We exchanged email addresses as we both want to compare notes on our genealogical pursuits but alas, we are not in touch.

That's my small world story.

Do you have one? I'm listening........