I hardly ever watch TV but never is too long! Don't have here on the boat so, went over to Best Buy here in Oxnard to rectify this situation. I wanted a USB tuner so I could just use the computer onboard. Can't find one. Can't find anyone that knows shit! Look around for a while an find this little tv, 19" screen, heck that will do for a backup Navigation monitor! Then this young fellow comes over, and he knows some stuff! Yeah! So I buy this little tv and an antennae to get the over the air signals. While talking to this young fella, I keep thinking, where have I heard this voice before? So I ask him where he is from? Rio Vista.... Bay Area Ah! My age old buddy from Fire Control school days was from the area not far from there. You have the Accent of the area I guess. What was your friends name? I tell him (very unusual Italian name). That is my Grand Father!
Well I'll be darned! A little $29 dollar antennae picks up 69 channel here. Don't know what heck they are though but I figured 2 or 4 maybe. Must be some repeaters here in these mountains.
Had an experience like this just this past May when I was in Vicksburg MS on a road trip. I left my motel to get some dinner. As I was heading for my car a younger guy who had gone to his car to grab some beer asked me what part of Oregon I was from. I told him and he said he had lived in the Salem area for awhile. I told him I had worked in Salem for almost 30 years. He said he had actually lived in Keizer. I told him that Keizer was where I had actually worked. I told him where I had worked and he told me his dad (who was originally from MS) had worked at the same place(!!???!!) We figured out I had supervised his dad for at least 8 years, that he was a nasty piece of work and I was certain he still hated my guts (while discussing this I was ready to bolt like a rabbit just in case this kid wanted to defend his dad). Turns out the kid never got along with his dad and still didn’t. He completely agreed with me on what an asshole his father was. So we stood in the parking lot awhile longer drinking this kids’ beer and having a nice chat. Bizarre....and proof that it’s truly a small world.....
Similar story. I was in NYC last week, and walked into this deli. Behind the counter was a guy I recognized. He was the same guy who was behind that same deli counter when I'd visited a couple of weeks earlier! Small world. barfo
I have three stories regarding my mothers family and people I knew. One was involved a woman I was hanging out with (we went to the same schools, but didn't become friends until well after high school). We were driving to Mt Hood and I casually mentioned I was more like my moms side of the family (and mentioned their last name) and my friend (who was driving) goes "wait...do you know Rachel (last name)?" Yep, she's my cousin (we aren't close though). "She was my best friend in college! I went to her wedding!" Another time, I was with another friend (known her since 6th grade). Her mom was visiting her at the same time I was. This time it was at the coast, and I was telling them the story above. And my friends mom stops me mid story and goes "wait...do you know a William (last name)? " "Well, I have an uncle Billy (last name)" her mom goes "I had a boss named William (last name)" "oh, probably my grandfathers brother. He worked for the phone company" all the sudden her face goes long like she saw a ghost. "I worked for the phone company" Then she goes "did you know a David (different last name, but still related)?" "Oh yeah, he's my moms cousin. His mom was my grandfathers younger sister" her mom "OH MY GOD, my (ex) husband and I used to stay at his cabin on the coast!" The third story involves a co-worker and I saw one of her friends on FB had the same last name as my mothers maiden name. Turns out she's a second cousin, who actually went to the same family reunion I did back in the 80's, in Canada. And her father shared the same first name as my grandfather (Ed), and her brother has the same name, first and last, as one of my cousins (Ryan) and looks exactly like him.
