Famililar Faces

At the market, I saw a familiar face - in the space of seconds, I had identified him as someone I'd taken a class with several years ago. At the tea house, just as we were about to leave, a gentleman sat at the next table and I recognized the man who had first introduced me to the house. Now, third time, at a festival, not only do I see a man I'd previously dated, but he actually sat at the table with my group. I would ask if my past is catching up with me, but my past isn't that sordid a thing to catch up.

When I first moved to P___, I did date a lot and had many first dates. Usually, one of us just decided that we weren't compatible (or I thought the man was contemptable, but that's another series of stories!) so most of these never went anywhere that would catch up to me. But now that I'm running into all these men I've known, I guess I'm learning what a small city I really live in. Someone told me that humans evolved during a time when even the most gregarious humans, the traveling traders and storytellers, would only have met up to 200 people in their lifetime and would have trouble remembering them. I could probably name 200 people that I consider friends (obviously not all close) and I think my tally of acquaintances (people I've been introduced to and exchanged words) would be at least 1,000.

Add in the 6 degrees of separation, which I believe in as I continue to trace 6 degrees to the stars and it bears out, and we live on a small planet indeed. I wish others could see that and recognize the impact of their actions.