It's a small, small world

[xela]

A few weeks ago Alyse needed to hire a biologist to consult on a project at work, and found one through craigslist. When we talked on the phone last night, she mentioned that she needed to go by that person's house and pick up a book they'd borrowed. I offered to do it for her, and she emailed me the biologist's address and her name, Amy B___.   Huh, thought I,  I know an Amy B___.   (She married Jeff B___, who used to work for me — was in fact the second person I hired at TERC. Come to think of it, wasn't she Course VII?¹. But they moved to Hawaii years ago. Must just be a coincidence.

I got to the house to pick up the book, which was supposed to be inside the screen door. No sign of it. So I rang the bell. The only adult home was the nanny; she didn't know anything about it. She called Amy and left voicemail. Then she made another call. "Jeff, there's a guy here to pick up a book...." My jaw dropped. She was off the phone with him too quickly for me to catch her eye. "I'm sorry, he's a teacher and has class."

"They didn't just move here from Hawaii, did they?"

I left them a note about what a small world it is.

---

¹ Course VII is MIT-speak for Biology.

Comments

[dpolicar]

I thought course six (VI) was eecs and course seven (VII) was biology?

[yakshaver.livejournal.com]

Thank you. Typo now corrected. (I don't know whether it's better or worse that I got it right in the body but wrong in the footnote.)

[kareila]

Wow, that's crazy. If you catch up with them, tell them I said hi. I'm still going to snail them a Christmas card and hope the post office forwards it.

[yakshaver.livejournal.com]

I was hemming and hawing about whether it would be ethical for me to just give you their address. But Alyse saved me worrying about it by checking the alum database: Amy's, at least, is up to date there.

[sammason.livejournal.com]

Excellent... since, I gather, you're pleased not horrified to have found them again!

[yakshaver.livejournal.com]

Oh yes.