11 Jul The wonderful world of blogging

Cape Bretoners are accustomed to coincidental connections because their homeland offers such fertile ground for them. The combination of summer residents, occasional visitors, and the vast Caper diaspora has seeded the planet with people eager to rekindle their connection to the island. The late Whitney Pier ship chandler Newman Dubinsky made a point of wearing a Cape Breton tartan ball cap on his frequent travels overseas, because of the conversations it was sure to spark.

For different reasons, blogging can have the same effect. My ex-sister-in-law, Myra Barss, is in New York, clearing out her parents’ house. She emailed a dealer in used and vintage clothes she had found through a Google search. The dealer’s reply ended with a question:

Also, on another note, are you affiliated with the blog “Contrarian?”

Myra responded:

Do you read The Contrarian? It is written by my former brother-in-law, Parker Donham. How did you make the connection between us?

Sasha’s answer:

Yes, I do read the Contrarian. I ran across his blog only last month with the article: “Why are journalists like phone sex workers.” I saw your name mentioned (tagged) on this blog only this week, so I thought it was just plain bizarre that I would run into you. Very small world.