It's a Small World

I have heard many times in my life that we are all connected to one another through six other people. The older I get, the easier this is to believe. Take, for instance, this past Monday. My friend Jill's (formerly Asmus, now Schumacher) uncle and fellow photography enthusiast Harlen (Persinger) left a calendar for me at his cousin Fran's home here in Iowa City. So, while out and about I stopped by and got to talking with Fran and her husband Lee. The first connection through Fran, of course, is to the Asmus and Persinger clans, multi-generation 4-H families. I served on the State 4-H Council with Todd, roomed with Jill at Iowa State, and received a scholarship from their grandmother Celestine (Persinger). I shared with Fran some of my experiences in medical school, and she expressed surprise at how common it is becoming for students to take years off to pursue other activities or studies during medical school and wondered if I knew Jan and Steve Rippentrop who had done something similar. Enter connection #2. Jan is the pastor at their church and the daughter of my favorite middle school teacher Carolyn Schnell. Steve will graduate with his MD this year, and both he and Jan lived in Germany for a year while she attended seminary through Wartburg College. Then Lee explained some of his family background and his work through the Iowa State University Extension system and that he knew several folks in and around Poweshiek County, most importantly his cousin Linda Iverson and her husband Larry. Enter connection #3! Larry and Linda are the parents of Laurie, a close friend of mine in high school who now lives in Des Moines and is an assistant manager at the Jordan Creek Wal-Mart. Laurie and my friend Emily Van Arkel attended Montezuma High School in the same conference as Lynnville-Sully. We all graduated in 1997 and were active in the County 4-H Council and had a lot of fun at the county and state fairs together when we were younger. Incidentally, Emily also served on the State 4-H Council with Todd and me. Fran and I laughed at our uncanny connections ... I certainly learned more than I was expecting to by just stopping by to pick up a calendar! In my opinion, however, discovering common links among acquaintances new and old is one of the best gifts in life, a gift that truly never stops giving. And it doesn't matter if I'm here in Iowa or away from home --- the connections are just as fun!