Small Worlds Come Together

Last night we returned downtown to another concert in Glover Park. This time is was the Cobb Symphony playing show tunes, marching bands music, the Arm Forces piece – when they play the theme from the various arm service, when they played yours you are to stand, which I did when they played “Anchors Away” and I was somewhat surprised of the number of the people who gave me the thumbs up when I stood. And of course, Tchaikovsky’s “1812 Overture” closed it up for the evening.

We arrived early of course. I would say too early, but there were a several little bunches of people in the park sitting and waiting too. We were a little over two hours early, I can’t imagine what went through those people's minds to be earlier.

We picked out a good place and unfolded our seats and sat down. Two women came up and asked were we going to sit there for the next two hours. We said yes. One asked have we ever eaten at Efes Turkish Restaurant and we said a few times. We suggested the gyro’s. They told us earlier today they went upstairs above the same restaurant and took a belly dance class. Later they reported back to us and told the food was good.

While sitting there watching the Cobb Symphony members show up and get organized a young lady came up and asked would we mind if she sat by us. She went on to explain that her fiancé was playing, and sitting right there, next to us, she could see him better. Sure, have a seat.

We talked and talked. She, her family, and he and his family are very religious yet very adventurous. As we talked, it didn’t take long to discover that Anna and her father was in the same graduating class in high school.

While the band members continued to set up I saw a girl I recognized years ago that worked at Krogers when she was a teenager. Then, we would go to Krogers to shop in the evening and this same girl and an older man worked in the deli. They seemed that they could never do anything right, but they had a good time with the free samples… one time, they went back to the closed meat market and fried up a package of tiny little wiener links and I stood there watching them and they asked me did I want some? I said I did, and one of them found a little napkin and gave me a few, they were eating them straight off the hot skillet.

She reminded of the type of girl that was the main character in the movie JUNO. She didn’t seem to care what people thought of her, but you could tell there were intelligence sparkling behind those relaxed eyeballs her hers.

I told the lady sitting next to us about her and she told us that now she is an expert music-mixer-synthesizer and was voted the top DJ in the Atlanta area.

I told the lady I was glad she found her calling because it certainly wasn’t at Krogers.

The lady mentioned that she went to college at Southern State which is in Statesboro, Georgia, and was part owner of a donut store in Statesboro.

I told her that on our cruise in the Bahamas we met a man and his family who owned a donut shop in Statesboro. In seconds we were describing to each other members of the family – yep, the same people.

Small world. We met them in the Caribbean and she was a business partner. And now, we meet her in Glover Park in Marietta. I am always amazed how small this world is.

She had more to tell about the man. He was aggressive and up to no good. He would cheat the employees out of some of their pay and they never knew the difference. They had words and went their separate ways.

But even after they went their separate ways he sent a message to her through her 5 year old nephew he was going to “get her” or something to that effect.

I wondered if the little guy is continuously part of small worlds. On the ship we met sat with his wife at a table at Johnny Rockets on the ship and when we said we lived in Marietta she said they used to own a donut shop in Marietta.

And less than a hour later Anna and I was talking to a few Statesboro School teachers that were on a “girls vacation” away from their husband. When we told them we just talked so a family from Statesboro – “hey! There they are now!” and we called them over and they told each other where they lived and they lived in the same subdivision.

Small worlds.