the people you "knew"

I just had one of the more remarkable eye-opening experiences of my life. As I was laying in bed with the lights off and Steph sawing logs next to me, I thought I'd fumble through a few blogs to see if I could find one boring enough to put me to sleep. [Aside: Tomorrow morning, almost exactly eight hours from now, we'll be in the doctor's office spying on the newest member of our family through the miracle of the ultrasound. Consequently, I'm having a bit of trouble falling asleep (kind of like a kid waiting to go to Disneyland or for Christmas morning). How Steph is sleeping so soundly, I cannot understand. Be that as it may, I wanted to post this entry, so I got up and moved rooms so the typing didn't wake her up.] Anyway, after reading a fairly popular local blog (badchristian -- it's not what you think; the title is more a commentary on the judgment we tend to pass on one another than anything else), I clicked on one of his links to the Bridget Jones goes to Seminary blog (a particularly interesting account of a woman's experience at Calvin Seminary). After reading an account of this young seminarian's experience at a local church, I read several of the comments until I stumbled upon a name that looked fairly familiar -- Matt Lind. It turns out that even though I thought I recognized the name, I don't think I know him -- or ever knew him -- but continuing on my linking adventure, I clicked on a link I thought looked interesting entitled Arachnid Hermeneutics. It was under "College Friends" and the feeling I had about the name Matt Lind was the same basic feeling I always have when I see someone from Calvin I should remember but don't -- I hope I'm not the only one who knows that feeling -- so I thought that might be promising. Sure enough, this brought me to the blog of Brian Bork -- yet another name that sounded too familiar to have never met him, but not familiar enough to tie a face to a name.

Then things got a little "small e-world". Under the "comrades" heading on Brian Bork's blog I saw the name Joel Swagman. This was the first name I was able to put with a face in my head. Joel was a guy who lived in my dorm. Although we didn't hang out much (I was too busy squandering my college experience so that I would have a difficult time remembering it years later), I remember him as a remarkably bright and friendly guy. I wasn't really reading any of these blogs as much as I was sort of drilling around, so I wasn't certain that any of these people -- even Joel -- were, in fact, who I believed them to be (keep in mind, for me, it's awfully late). On Joel's site, I saw the name Brett Nelson and again the name rang a bell; I wondered if he was the shorter blonde-haired kid (I actually don't think he's short, but Joel was like seven foot tall -- or, at least he seemed to be to me -- so anyone who was regularly seen standing next to him appeared, well, shorter; Brett, if you happen to read this, please don't take offense, I'm just relaying the things that came to my mind.) who used to regularly hang out with Joel. Sure enough, when I clicked on the link to his blog, I found my first photographic proof that these people were who I remembered them to be. See, Brett has a QT slideshow on his blog from his roadie with his wife (I'll get to her in a minute) to someone's wedding (Beth _____?) in what looks to be Western PA or somewhere in Appalachia so, naturally, because my curiosity had been piqued, I played it; eventually, after some pretty neat roadie pics, there he was almost exactly how I remember him only not quite as young. There were also pictures of a woman who looked awfully familiar and whom I later identified as his wife Sara (I believe I know her last name, er, rather, her maiden name, but because I couldn't find it anywhere on her blog, I'll leave it undisclosed, but the url to her blog confirmed what I thought). Well, Sara and Steph went to High School together and both went to Calvin (taking the same fairly common route as my brother-in-law Marc who married my sister -- yes, indeedie, it's got just a hint of incestuousness, no?) along with several of their classmates; so I knew Sara a little bit -- about as well as I knew Brett and Joel -- from Calvin. Then, on Sara's blog I saw a link to "hannah" -- who I could only assume was the same "Hannah" who was roomates and is friends with one Mrs. Stephanie Van Dyk. Sure enough, I went to her blog, scrolled down a ways, and there she was (w/ Sara and Brett).

Anyway, I tell you this story -- in the rather long-winded, boring, and circuitous manner in which I did -- to accomplish two things. First, so that I could put links to all of these people's blogs on my blog so I wouldn't forget where they were (I'm not much for favorites lists). Secondly, and more importantly, however, I tell you this to suggest that the internet has indeed made our world a small world (earthshattering, I know). The advent of the blogosphere -- and particularly geolocation -- is making it even smaller and . . . that is really cool. Why? Because I'm going to be honest; I haven't thought about Joel Swagman or Brett Nelson or Sara _________ in some time and really that's a shame. It is neat/cool/sweet/[insert cornball adjective of your choosing here] to have caught a little glimpse of what they've been up to over the years (or at least since they began their blogs), and now if/when (given the size of G.R., it's more likely to be "when") I see them, I shouldn't have to fumble for their names (as is so often the case with people who have been in our personal peripheries) or debate whether to say "hi" or not (I know we can all relate to that). That seemingly little thing is, really, when you think about it, really, well, neat.