Six degrees

In a comment on my last post, Kristin says something about six degrees of separation. Six degrees of separation (also referred to as the "Human Web") refers to the idea that, if a person is one step away from each person they know and two steps away from each person who is known by one of the people they know, then everyone is at most six steps away from any other person on Earth. It was popularized by a play written by John Guare and made into a movie starring Will Smith.

Because of my time with the Carmelites especially, I came to see how this works. For example, I am only one degree away from the Pope, whom I met when he was a cardinal. So that puts me just a couple of steps away from lots of world leaders. Tom knows President Obama from when they both lived in Hyde Park. That puts me two steps away from the President, and through the president, three steps away from everyone in Congress and on the Supreme Court and governors of the states and ... And my friend Steve works as an interpreter at the Capitol, so he is another link to all those politicians. Oh, and Tom also knows the guy who is the Obama family's cook at the White House. I have way too many ways in there!

I know Cardinal George of Chicago -- which puts me just a step away from lots of Chicago politicians I might just as soon not know -- and the Archbishop of Baghdad, which means I am only a couple of steps away from most of the leaders in Iraq. So that means I am only a few degrees away from some pretty scary people. And since you know me, so are you!

Tom knows Harrison Ford, who was Tom's brother Steve's roommate in college, and there we get into the whole Hollywood network. Since the main actor noted for these things is Kevin Bacon, I am only four degrees away from Kevin Bacon because he was in Stir of Echoes with Mike Bacarella who was in The Fugitive with Harrison Ford. Again, since you know me, you are just a few steps away from your favorite movie or television star through me -- and probably through other links as well.

After all, Mama and Daddy met Dolly Parton and even gave her a ride. So the whole country music world just got drawn in.

Because of my year in St. Louis with priests, brothers and sisters from around the world, I have connections into, among other places: Ireland, Australia, Spain, Ghana, Kenya (lots there!), Malawi, India, Japan, the Philippines (again, lots!), Germany, Ethiopia, Italy. George Anastaplo (Helen's father, whom I know myself) knows the king of Greece. Which I suspect means I am only three or four degrees away from the Queen of England and family. But then I am only a few steps away from them through the President, too.

Tom is related to St. Edith Stein (Teresa Benedicta of the Cross) through his mother, so I am only a few steps away from the saint whose canonization I attended in Rome back in 1998, except she died in Auschwitz in 1942, before I (or Tom, for that matter) were even born.

I know someone from Croatia and someone from Bosnia, lots of folks from Poland and a few from Russia. I know people from Korea and Vietnam, from South Africa and Israel, from New Zealand and Papua New Guinea, from Jamaica and Ecuador. All of whom connect to people in all those places and beyond.

Once at Holy Hill I met a family from Huntsville, Texas. When they ran bus tours, Ray and Christine used to visit Brookline, MA (when I lived there even) and Wisconsin Dells (before I had even heard of it.)

And on and on and on it goes. We are all connected more closely than we imagine.