Three Degrees of Separation

I don't know anyone who can find the shortest path of acquaintances separating her from a stranger as quickly as Kathy can. It's a work of art. It's like watching a safe-cracker in action; I observe in amazement as Kathy fires off questions that seem random and bizarre to me: "Do you have an older brother who went to school in Pomona? Did you have a sister on swim team who once tried out for the Olympics? Did you ever work for a startup that made software for obstetricians? Did you used to go to the hair stylist in Madrid across the street from the parrot shop?"

Who would even think to ask such questions? But sure enough the tumblers click into place and before long she and the stranger have found a connection and begun chatting like former sorority sisters. But her most recent example yielded a surprise connection even Kathy didn't see coming.

It began with a woman who works at a company Kathy had just begun consulting for. It's a small company so Kathy is quickly getting to know the employees. The other day she got chatting with a well dressed African-American woman she sees daily who reminded her of a close friend. The woman seemed distracted about something and Kathy learned she was working on a church brochure and was getting increasingly frustrated by the changing amateur requests from the various volunteer groups. Kathy empathized and eventually asked which church.

"Oh, I know some people who belong to that church..." Kathy said, tumblers already beginning to click. "Do you know a woman named Dee?" I can see Kathy searching for the last name, the dial spinning on the combination lock. "She worked for us for years. In fact, her niece Jeanne was our nanny for a while, and so was Jeanne's daughter, Shirlyn."

"Wait a minute...do you have triplets?" the woman asked.

And then she made the connection: but not, "I know Dee," or "I know Jeanne," or "Shirlyn." Instead:

"I've been to your house. I know your boys!"

What??

"Your boys are so cute. They are adorable. And so friendly. They'd let anybody hold them. I used to see them at Bible study all the time."

Remarkable! Even when they were toddlers our boys were making friends we didn't know about.

I couldn't resist teasing Kathy, "Unbelievable! This time when you found the shortest connection to someone you just met, it turned out to be your own sons."