6 Degrees of Separation
My divas get a kick out of talking about who they are "connected" to. Maggie in particular likes to connect the dots...her favorite is the President of Ireland, Mary McAleese. Not only does one of our Irish cousins know her well, she is actually a cousin of ours, not too far removed.
Every once in a while, we go through the fun exercise of how we are connected to famous folks...Uncle Mark was a light guy on tour with Spingsteen, Dylan, and Madonna among others. Grandpa Mick got to know DeNiro because of some consulting work on a movie. My dad knew Mark Harmon's dad, and we even went to his house when I was little...I remember playing with the crawdads in the creek behind his house. We know so many stage combat masters who have worked with so many actors. There are so many actors and celebrities these days, that most folks can probably identify a connection only one or 2 degrees separated.
I have 3 favorites. The first is Clint Eastwood's wife, Dina Ruiz. We went to the same high school...my brother knew her well. My mother babysat her occasionally when she was tiny. I can still see this small, little firecracker with masses of hair.
And then there is Kristi Yamaguchi, the Olympic skating medalist....my sisters and I used to babysit her and her siblings. They lived around the corner. Kristi was about 3 when we met them, this beautiful, tiny little doll. My mother taught one or two of the kids. In fact, her father is my mother's dentist!
But the best one of all was the Sandy on "Flipper!" Remember him? Tall, tanned, good-lookin' dude...not the little freckle-faced boy. Well! He was another cousin... a million times removed, but I did not care! When I was 12, I used to daydream about him (not the stupid dolphin!) saving me if I drowned. {{{big sigh}}}
But all of this pales in comparison to a different kind connection discovered this weekend.
The family went to see "Enchanted" on Friday while I was sewing. As SOON as they got home, Diva Molly comes tearing down the stairs...
"MAMA, MAMA!! Remember when we saw all of those weird creatures in Central Park last summer?!!! That was this movie!!" she squeals.
"And we were THIS CLOSE to McDreamy! Patrick Dempsey, Mama! PATRICK DEMPSEY!!!!!"
The other 2 divas repeated this. Michael and I got a big kick out of how excited they were...that MAYBE we had been within spitting distance of McDreamy...no real connection, just the thought of a supposed, hypothetical, highly unlikely sighting...the divas promptly told all of their friends.
They are such GIRLS!!! Albeit girls with great taste in men...like their mother...who could daydream about McDreamy saving her from drowning...if she were so inclined...in her dungeon...sewing and daydreaming go well together.
'Scuse me, I have work to do in the dungeon....
