Lessons in why it’s good to talk to strangers. You meet the darndest, coolest people. This year I met:
A guy who discovered a major cave
Sitting next to me on an airplane, he tells me he had such a strong desire to discover a major cave that he became a park ranger in Kentucky, known for its extensive cave systems which I’ve considered visiting several times on roadtrips. He spent 2 years walking the land looking for holes in the ground. Lo and behold he and his friends noticed a river dropping down and saw a hole which they entered. Eureka - the Martin Ridge Cave System. The way he tells what happened next, on a tour of the caves he was “ranging,” a professor from a local university said “You should get a masters degree!” He did, and the rest is history.
Everyone at the Maker Faire
4 guys who met surfing in Hawaii in the 70s who reunited over coffee and reminisced over waves.
Someone who is building the world’s largest menorah, that will be captured in satellite imagery (I don’t feel at liberty to explain how he’s doing this lest I cause him not to be the first). To boot, he isn’t Jewish.
A man who went to high school with Al Capone’s brother. He also did statistical analysis to recommend when the US should invade Germany in World War II.
Someone who wholesales granite and marble that comes from South Dakota but is sent to China to be cut up, then back to the US.
A boy who wants to be an actor who dressed up like a marshmallow to audition for his first commercial.
A water color artist who I met at a lunch in California who we discovered knows the person who lives across the street from my sister, in a 500 person town 3500 miles away.
A woman pioneer in the online music industry who patented numerous technologies and continues to be a visionary.
Someone who invented shaped waterbeds, known for the heart shape. Do I need to say this was in the 70s? Yet another airplane conversation.
Who did you meet in random conversation?
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