\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Six degrees of separation\u00e2\u20ac\u009d is a concept that tries to show that everybody is connected to everybody else by just six steps.<\/p>\n
The observation, of about 1994 vintage, is also called \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Six degrees of Kevin Bacon,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d the \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Footloose\u00e2\u20ac\u009d actor who\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s been in just about every other movie. The task, when it became a game, would be to show a connection between any actor and Bacon.<\/p>\n
Perhaps the other actor had a small part in a movie whose hairdresser was the third cousin to the chauffeur who transported the oldest aunt of Sandra Bullock to a cafe for a date with Kevin Bacon.<\/p>\n
Non-actors as well try to connect with one another in the fewest steps possible. The practice is also called the Small World Syndrome. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s fun.<\/p>\n
Though these attempts occurred long before the Bacon hit the skillet, I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve experienced similar coincidences that have made me wonder how, of all the people in the world, all the cities in the world, all the times in the world, I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d meet up with people I knew.<\/p>\n
Let me explain:<\/p>\n
Back in the dark ages, when I lived in suburban Chicago, I went into the city in the hopes of meeting David Condon, the renowned sports editor of the Chicago Tribune. I invited my girlfriend, Carol, along. We struck out \u00e2\u20ac\u201d I should have called ahead \u00e2\u20ac\u201d as Mr. Condon was off that day. Before moving to the Midwest, a number of people had told me about how David Condon was a Las Vegas product; his family owned Condon Coal Co., on Railroad, merely three blocks from my house.<\/p>\n
Undaunted, Carol and I took in the sights. She promised to show me where State Street meets Madison Avenue, at the time, said to be the busiest pedestrian intersection in the U.S. \u00c2\u00a0Seeing it left me no doubts at all. On the way, I made out the face of a person I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d known for years in Las Vegas, Eddie Groth. Eddie was attending a conference in the Windy City. At the time, Groth did sports information for Highlands, and as I had been on the Optic staff a few years before moving, I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d run many of his sports articles and features.<\/p>\n
So I wondered: What are the chances, out of the thousands of people at this beehive intersection, of seeing a familiar face? He too was surprised. We chatted for a few minutes, and as we parted, I kept marveling aloud at the coincidence, repeating for the 20th time, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s so fitting that we met Eddie and his wife on, of all places, State and Madison.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n
Well, Carol popped my balloon in saying, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153It wasn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t exactly State and Madison where we saw them; it was actually Michigan and Madison.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Ah, Michigan, Schmichigan. What\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s the difference?<\/p>\n
But wait, there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s more.<\/p>\n
Maybe 20 years ago, my family was invited to the wedding of my niece, who was to tie the knot aboard the Queen Mary, docked in Long Beach, Calif. I didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t attend, but my parents and my brother and sister did. Mom told me, when they returned to New Mexico, that while on the ship, she kept hearing someone hollering \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Mrs. Trujillo.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d The caller turned out to be Sara Harris, who with her husband Jay, was on board for another function.<\/p>\n
The coincidence should end there, but I told you there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s more.<\/p>\n
Sara (yes, the same Sara) sent me an e-mail last week in which she wrote, in part, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Jay and I just returned from a cruise with around 3,200 people, which sailed out of Miami with its destination being Rome. Well, we competed in a Battle of the Sexes game and were asked our names and where we were \u00c2\u00a0from.<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153After the show, a gentleman and his wife introduced themselves to us and said that they were from Albuquerque. Their names are Chris and Dolores S\u00c3\u00a1nchez, y, entre pl\u00c3\u00a1tica y pl\u00c3\u00a1tica, it turns out that he is related to you. They were very lovely people, and it was always a pleasure to run into them on the ship. Anyway, it is a small world.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n
It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not exactly Six Degrees of Separation, but it highlights our belief that there are indeed coincidences.<\/p>\n
As for the Harrises, who spotted members of my family \u00e2\u20ac\u201d twice \u00e2\u20ac\u201d while miles and oceans away from Las Vegas, well, maybe they should open up a detective agency, or work for Google Earth, or even operate a modest Lost and Found shop.<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u00a2 \u00e2\u20ac\u00a2 \u00e2\u20ac\u00a2<\/p>\n
Dozens of people sweated off pounds during the recently concluded 2010 Mayor\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Fitness Challenge at the City Recreation Center.<\/p>\n
Participants competed in three women\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s and three men\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s age categories. The winners:<\/p>\n
Women 16-35: 1. Anita Gonzales, 2. Catherine Jaramillo, 3. Kirsten Loar; 36-55: 1. Debbie Martinez, 2. Stephanie Gonzales, 3. Joyce LeDoux; 56-80: 1. M. Maxine Maes, 2. Ida Lujan, 3. Rosita Ellis.<\/p>\n
Men 16-35: 1. Michael Padilla, 2. Louis Romero, 3. Abenicio Baldonado; 36-55: George R. Romero, 2. James Montoya, 3. Jerry Herrera; 56-80: 1. Carlos Thomas.<\/p>\n
Overall champion: Alex Aragon (but not the Alex Aragon who chairs the planning and zoning committee. There are five people with that name in this city).<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u00a2 \u00e2\u20ac\u00a2 \u00e2\u20ac\u00a2<\/p>\n
My family takes a car trip west about once a year. The next trip may have to be by air. And that trip assuredly, will fly over, but not stop in, any part of Arizona.<\/p>\n
Is my rant childish, impetuous? Perhaps, but the Arizona governor\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s signing of S.B. 1070 was cruel, hasty, discriminatory and destined to wreak lots of havoc.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Six degrees of separation\u00e2\u20ac\u009d is a concept that tries to show that everybody is connected to everybody else by just six steps. The observation, of about 1994 vintage, is also called \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Six degrees of Kevin Bacon,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d the \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Footloose\u00e2\u20ac\u009d actor who\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s been in just about every other movie. The task, when it became a game, would […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[2],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/rezio.net\/woa\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/582"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/rezio.net\/woa\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/rezio.net\/woa\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rezio.net\/woa\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rezio.net\/woa\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=582"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/rezio.net\/woa\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/582\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":585,"href":"https:\/\/rezio.net\/woa\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/582\/revisions\/585"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/rezio.net\/woa\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=582"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rezio.net\/woa\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=582"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rezio.net\/woa\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=582"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}