Rant & Rave extra: small world

Earlier this year a local woman wrote in to thank a man who had helped her up some steps in Greece after she'd injured herself. Turns out the man was a firefighter in Bothell named Mark Notaras. Turns out Notaras and the woman had mutual acquaintances.

To which we say, small world.

Everyone's got a story like that, which prompted Stanley Milgram's famous research in the 1960s, that found that only six links connect two random people — "six degrees of separation." (By the way, Kevin Bacon is owning that "Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon" joke. He has launched a social-networking philanthropic site called sixdegrees.org.)

Anyway, some people have shared their own small-world stories. Feel free to add more on our Sound Off forum at seattletimes.com/living.

Small world "I had never been to Times Square in New York City. I had made reservations from Snohomish to a local hotel right in the heart of Times Square. My first day there I walked the three blocks, stopped to take in all the sites and found myself staring into the eyes of two Realtors I used to work with when I lived in San Diego. My first view of native New Yorkers turned out to be fellow vacationers from California."

Small world "In 2001, my husband and I were on the subway in Paris with our 17-month-old son. A couple asked us about him in French, and we responded in English that we didn't speak the language. They responded in English. Of course, the next question was, 'Where are you from?' It turns out the husband went to Everett High School and had been a friend of my husband's father — they'd played on the same basketball team!"

Small world "Some years back I was changing planes in Chicago, struggling with two children and carry-on bags, when I heard a voice call my name. I looked up and saw a man I didn't recognize at all. He said, 'Don't you remember me? You used to yell at me in college all the time!' Yell at him? Now I was embarrassed and confused! 'No, I'm sure I wouldn't have,' I demurred. 'Yes, I was on your crew team when you were our coxswain!" Oh, that kind of yelling! He laughed and very kindly helped me juggle my kids and bags to the connecting gate."

Small world "I was a regular lunch-hour runner along the waterfront and Myrtle Edwards Park. I passed the same people every day and always exchanged hellos with one guy usually there at the same time. On my first trip to Europe, I took a day trip from Florence to Siena. This was back in the early '90s, before Tuscany had become the destination it is today. Walking across the Piazza del Campo, I passed this same man, who offered a "Good morning," followed by the double-take and the big laugh. A couple weeks later, we were both back to our Alaskan Way routine."

Small world "In January 1975, while I was a freshman at Skagit Valley Community College, I was in Santa Rosa, Calif., visiting my mother in the hospital after she had tried to commit suicide. As I was walking into a drugstore, a former high school classmate was walking out. It was like I had been thrown a lifeline during a very troubled time. My mother survived. The fellow I'd run into was on the planning committee for our 20-year high-school reunion, and I wrote to let him know how much that encounter had meant to me. Sometimes all it takes to get through a difficult time is a chance encounter with a fellow human being. It was just nice that my lifeline was someone I knew."

Got a small-world story to share? Visit seattletimes.com/living and click on "Sound Off."