The theory follows the premise that because of his diverse acting background, it is possible to link Kevin Bacon with any other actor in a small number of steps. Kevin Bacon himself has a Bacon number of 0. Any actor who has appeared with Bacon in a movie has a Bacon number of 1. For example, Elvis Presley has a Bacon number of 2 (Elvis was in Harum Scarum (1965) with Suzanne Covington, Covington was in Beauty Shop (2005) with Bacon).
So Kevin Bacon may have worked with every actor possible but sometimes, it seems in my life, like it’s "6 degrees of Meg"! The last few days have been especially telling in relation to this concept.
I don’t know why I still get surprised by these connections. They happen so often anymore! Please allow me to share with you the six degrees of Meg that have occurred in just the last week.
1. Last night, for example, I realized as I was falling asleep that my friend, Jim, is seeing the daughter of some church friends! When I first found out they were dating, I couldn’t quite put my finger on it as to why she seemed familiar to me. When I realized she knew some of my sister-in-law’s mommy friends from my niece’s school through work, I thought that was why. Yet, when I saw a picture of Jim with his new beau, it dawned on me that she resembled others I knew. He confirmed my hunch when he said that Frank and Deb were indeed her parents. The funny part is…the thought had crossed my mind to try to set them up when I first heard of their daughter. You see, I had been attending IHM every other week during my weeks of babysitting here in the summers in 2008, 2009, and 2010. Then, in Summer 2010, while in the process of moving down here for school, I started getting to know folks at church. It wasn’t until this past year that I really got to know Frank & Deb since he is an usher and she is a Eucharistic Minister most Saturday nights when we go to mass. I remember several months ago handing a business card to Deb with my contact information and being excited that I might have a new 5k walking buddy and looking forward to meeting this gal. Jim is an awesome guy and would make a loyal, fun, and loving boyfriend and future spouse so I’m beyond thrilled that he’s so happy with this girl and am glad they found their way to each other!
2. When in Santa Fe, NM last week for work, I met some of the NLCSD Fellows in person. The National Leadership Consortium in Sensory Disabilities is the program I applied to in January 2010 to try to become a Fellow but was denied. I can’t be sad over that circumstance because had I not attempted to be a Fellow, I would never have been offered the Assistantship nor learned of University of North Carolina at Greensboro. Anyhow, due to a study we conducted the first year, I learned of some of the Fellows via participation in the online discussion boards but was never officially introduced to them face to face. So, last week, it was nice to put names with faces as I met some of the individuals. These folks come from all over the country and even Canada so I never dreamt in a million years that I would have connections to not one but TWO of the Fellows outside our field of deafness. One was Christina from Arizona…it turns out she knows a friend from my undergraduate program at Indiana University of Pennsylvania, Melissa! Melissa is currently in Abu Dhabi where I introduced her to a friend from my hometown (so this is really 2 different connections I suppose!!). Additionally, I met Natalie from Colorado, another Fellow. She also happens to be friends with a friend in NC whom I met through church. How do Christina in NC and Natalie in CO know one another? Well, they served in the Peace Corps in Kenya a couple years ago. Wow!!
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| Melissa and Meg at a party for Clinicals at IUP in 2001, 2002? |
3. This next connection reminds me of last year’s conference in Jacksonville, Florida. Before the conference, an email had been sent out on the list serv asking if any of us doc students wanted to be roommates for the conference. My colleague, Stef (who also happens to be from Schuylkill County!!), and I said yes to being roommates with this gal from Colorado for the conference. However, she had already found someone. We forgot about this email exchange until we accidentally met Sharon at the conference. It wasn’t until a few days into the conference after spending time together before we realized, oh, we had corresponded via email! Sharon is an awesomely positive asset to our field and I look forward to possible future projects with her! On the last day of the conference, after bidding each other goodbye earlier in the day, Natalie, Sharon, and I bumped into one another at Chimayo, a place that was about 30 minutes from Santa Fe when I was out and about with hometown friends who were showing me around and they were on their way back to Colorado to try to beat the snowstorm.
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| 2 Schuylkill County girls presenting in Jacksonville, Florida at last year's conference. ;) |
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| Sharon, Margo, Meg, Dr. Compton at Atomic Grill for a last minute lunch between conference sessions |
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| El Santuario de Chimayo run-in with Natalie! |
While spending time with friends from my hometown who now live in Albuquerque, I asked Eric about his brother. It turns out that Eric’s brother lives in Shrewsbury/New Freedom area, which is near York and also happens to be where my former roommate grew up…then on the last day as I rode in the back seat of a cramped shuttle from the resort to the airport, the man sitting next to me and I struck up a conversation. It turns out he lived in York while in medical school. Then….come to find out, he and his wife currently live in Ohio where she works with a friend of mine from NC who graduated with her doctorate my first year in the program. They have dinner parties with my friend and her husband.
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| LOVE this depiction of York by local artist, Brenda Wintermyer. Ashley got this for me as a going away present when I moved from York to NC! |
5. After returning back to NC, I received a message from one of my former professors at Kutztown University (where I got my Master’s). I completely forgot she was from Santa Fe and moved back there after retiring from KU. Oh, how I wish I had remembered this the day before so I could have seen her for the first time since 2006!
6. Last, but not least, my 6th degree of connection is that tomorrow I’m going to go visit my new person at the nursing home for the first time…followed by lunch at a friend’s home. It turns out Allyson lives right across the street from the nursing home. Ok, that may be a stretch but seriously..what are the odds that she invites me over on the day I’ll be in her neighborhood?! Love how small this world gets and how connected we all can be all across the globe through these connections we have with one another!!
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