First Meetings
I have found that one of the more interesting questions to ask of couples of every stripe is "How did you meet?" When i say "couples" I refer to any pair of people, which can encompass friends, lovers, significant others, partners, and any other combination. It could also refer to a larger group, but the situation for asking that question rarely presents itself; there are exceptions, of course.
I was working in Pennsylvania and had just accepted a job in New Jersey, with RCA. A fellow worker said "I know a guy who works at RCA". He mentioned a few facts about him, but I paid little attention, knowing that RCA was a huge corporation. So we moved to New Jersey. After a while Mrs side pocket wished to investigate a church to attend. The Unitarian Church piqued her interest so we attended a group meeting for potential church members. We sat in a circle and proffered some biographical info about ourselves. I went up to B afterwards and asked "Do you know J?" "Yes", he said, and we bonded immediately.
This began a multi-decade friendship which was far and above the most important male friendship I ever had. Together we experienced the entire hippie revolution in the San Francisco area and so much more. Sadly this came to an end, and though KTK feels like an extended family to me I won't go into details, because, after all, this is the internets.
I have had other meeting with people which seemed fantastically coincidental and yet almost pre-ordained. Lurking in my brain for years was a word, something like"karas" or "krass" or something like that, which I dimly remembered reading about, and which I took to be a group of people who were destined to meet. Contemplating this diary I decided to try Google and there it was:
karass – A group of people linked in a cosmically significant manner, even when superficial links are not evident.
I found it under the rubric
Bokononism,which is a religion invented by Kurt Vonnegut and practiced by many of the characters in his novel Cat's Cradle. A foundation of Bokononism is that the religion, including its texts, is formed entirely of lies; however, one who believes and adheres to these lies will have peace of mind, and perhaps live a good life. I will refrain from comment on that one.
My concept had the supposed linkage occurring in a population as large as the United States or even the world. We here on Daily Kos have a theoretical population of more than a million, but as a practical matter it's only several thousands. The effects of Connect! Unite! Act! will doubtless create new linkages which may be surprising to some but expected by me.
Do you have any stories of fortuitous meetings you could share? In a public forum, details can be blurred, but in case of any especially salacious stories, please send them to me privately in a plain brown envelope. Privacy is assured.
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Kitchen Table Kibitzing is a community series for those who wish to share part of the evening around a virtual kitchen table with kossacks who are caring and supportive of one another. So bring your stories, jokes, photos, funny pics, music, and interesting videos, as well as links—including quotations—to diaries, news stories, and books that you think this community would appreciate. Readers may notice that most who post diaries and comments in this series already know one another to some degree, but newcomers should not feel excluded. We welcome guests at our kitchen table, and hope to make some new friends as well.
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