Sunday, June 2, 2013

It's A Small World After All

The universe is so big. And when I think about it I feel so small and inconsequential, which I actually don't mind. It supports the whole Don't Sweat The Small Stuff philosophy, because it's true--it's all small stuff.

And then something happens and I'm like, Wow. The world is so small. How can this be?

So I will share with you the Small World experience I had this week. Partly because it's mind boggling (How can this be?) and partly because it's so...awesome.

Because I know there's absolutely nobody new here (because, come on, why would there be? I hide out here with you guys. Just us upside down chickens, right?) I will work under the assumption that you know what I'm talking about when I refer back to a post from weeks ago about the Boston Marathon bombings and the Schneider award money that I divvied up among the victims.

This week I received a lot of lovely sympathy cards in the mail (which you all know refers to the event of last week's post). I have a cool little envelope blade that I use to open all my mail. It's not a "letter opener" per se. It's a razor blade on some bank's promotional item, only I can't tell you which bank because the logo's all worn off.

It's a nifty tool. Zip! Zip! Zip! I open all the mail, back side up, then flip the stack over and process. And as I went through the cards expecting one thing, what appeared in the third card was something I had to reread because it took me the whole note to realize that it had nothing whatsoever to do with my mother.

It was from somebody else's mother.

A mother who was also a bookseller.

One whose store I'd visited when I'd been on tour in 2001 for Sammy Keyes and the Hollywood Mummy.

Okay, that was twelve years ago, and even though I mailed a few Christmas cards in the interim,  I hope I'm forgiven for not connecting the last name on the check I made out for a victim who lived in Boston with the last name of a bookseller in Washington state. It was with complete disbelief that I read her note thanking me for the donation for her daughter and reminding me that I'd visited her store all those years ago.

It was one of those wonderful "moments" when the world feels like a neighborhood where the neighbors come together to help each other out.

Just when I'm sure the universe is too big for anything I do to matter I'm reminded how small the world is after all.




5 comments:

Kylie said...

It surprises me how small the world really is.

The fact that of all of those that were in need from the bombings and you just happened to give help to someone that relative knew you. That is crazy. I do hope that the booksellers daughter is doing good.

This weekend at my towns relay for life was another location that I found what a small world we live in. I was working the lumeneria booth and there was so many people there that I knew someone that was related to them. It was crazy.

We really all are upside down chickens here, when I read that I started to laugh.

I can't believe just how small that world is sometimes.

Kylie

Unknown said...

Wow that is so cool who would have thought! She must've also been surprised to when she saw you were the one who donated to her daughter! =)
And I feel so bad for not being here for a couple of the last posts, I tried but I couldn't get a chance to leave a comment.
So anyways THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE ARC I LOVED IT SOO SOSOSO MUCH IT WAS AMAZING EVERY WORD OF IT PURE AWESOMENESS!!!!!=)=)=)=)=)

Norma said...

Wow, the world really is a small place isn't it? Well that's just really awesome. :) It's sweet to know that you were able to touch someone who remembered you from so long ago.

Gabrielle said...

What a small world we live in. It's funny how things like that happen.






Gabrielle

Karen said...

That is so cool. Thanks for making me smile. I don’t have the brainpower for coherence right now, but simultaneous big universe and small world and it’s all small stuff and interconnectedness yes.

Also I didn’t check in last week but I am sorry for your loss. Hugs through the Internet!

See you later! Upside down chickens, heee.