can't stay out of the paper...

i was readin in the Omaha World-Herald, Omaha's finest news source, about the six-degrees of separation. The six-degrees of separation is the idea that we are all connected in this world through six people or less. It may or may not be true, who knows...but it does seem like a small world when you run into people that know you or knows someone that you know from a past experience. When the OWH ran an article about the Six-Degrees of Kevin Bacon and asked for reader submissions, I jumped at it - I shared some of the stories of the folks I ran into while traveling. In all, I ran into two people that I knew from past experiences and ran into three people who knew people I knew.

This was a pretty good story that ran last week...Sharing it with my massive blog audience is the least I can do, eh? Pretty much the best story ever, if i do say so myself.

Published Sunday
October 29, 2006

Strangers sometimes shockingly familiar

BY CHRISTINE LAUE
WORLD-HERALD STAFF WRITER

Whether in Omaha, Mexico or Walt Disney World, it's a small world.

Readers shared their small-world tales after our Tuesday story explaining the six degrees of separation theory - that we're all linked by no more than six other people.

Read on to see how things like Disney World name tags and the Homy Inn, an Omaha bar, played a key role in linking people.

***

I thought I would tell you a little story of how I have bumped into people while traveling.

About a year ago I took a seven-month trip to Central America, South America and Antarctica. On each continent, I ran into someone that I knew, or knew someone that I knew.

For example, I was walking on the streets of Cuernavaca, Mexico, when a car passed me, it stopped and backed up. I thought that was pretty strange . . . When the driver said, "Hey, are you from Omaha?" I did a double take and realized it was a friend of a friend of mine who now lives in Cuernavaca. Pretty strange, eh?

A couple months after that, I was in a bar in Ushuaia, the southernmost city in the world, with a group of international travelers when the performer at the bar asked us where we were from.

I mentioned the U.S., and she said she knew one American, from Nebraska. I told her I was from Nebraska. She said she knew someone from Omaha. I said I was from O-town.

She mentioned the guy's name and I was like "Holy Smokers! I know Tim, too!" She happened to be my friend's roommate when they were both living in Spain about five years ago.

A girl I chatted up during a Zodiac (boat) ride began talking about Omaha and how she was dating a guy from there. She mentioned his name was Todd and how he always went to a bar with champagne on tap and went to school in Omaha with the funny district name.

"Oh, District 66," I said.

She was dating a guy that I had been an outdoor education counselor with back at Westside High School.

James Peters, Omaha

Although, they didnt include the story about the ballplayer that I ran into in Panama that I knew from my time at Rosenblatt. I had a special connection with that guy, he bounced a 100 USD check.

Now, if the OWH could just have a decent travel section. When I say decent, I mean I would like to see story contributions from local travelers.

The Omaha area is full of travleres and a portion of the travel section could focus on that very large demographic of students and 20 somethings here in Omaha.

But the OWH has the proclivity to focus 100% of the travel coverage at high class hotels and expensive cruises which insulate you from any real cultural experience.

Where is the portion dedicated to the backpacker on a shoestring budget? I would like the OWH to write an article about homestay programs in not just Europe, but all the other opportunities in Asia, Africa, South America etc...Who wouldnt, besides the editors, want to know about experieces Omahans have had living in foreign countires! Write about returning Peace Corps volunteers or the experiences they have had returning from one culture to another. Omaha is bursting with travelers!!! So c'mon, OWH...it's time to step up and reexamine your audience. There IS an interest in traveling in Omaha and there is a very wide audience that wants to read more.

im gonna write my letter to the editor. it's time for a change!