Degrees of Separation

This is a picture of my ex-husband Jim Kastelic. On his right, his cousin Kathy Ebbs. On his left, our daughter, Mary Ellen Kastelic. This was taken in 2007. It was the unfortunate event of Jim's fathers funeral. However, being the family historian I am, I told Mary Ellen, you get pictures of everyone, make groups, get cousins, families, aunts & uncles, whatever you can get people to do! She, being the obedient daughter she is, complied beautifully.

This is a picture I took in 1992 of Mary Ellen and Jim, at Mary Ellen's high school graduation. When Mary Ellen was a small child, she wanted a 'kiss' picture of us. I was amazed that our profiles looked nothing alike. I always knew she was 'her father's daughter', so when he and his wife, Mary Lou came for Mary Ellen's graduation, I had them 'assume the position'!

But this story is about something else, it is about the coincidence of knowing Jim! We knew of each other since we were very young children. He was from the same town, Cherokee, Kansas, my grandparents, Flo and Doc lived in. Jim and my sister Beverly were in the 4th grade together. Years later, I attended college 12 miles from Cherokee, in Pittsburg, Kansas. I had hooked up with another guy from Cherokee, Bill Nevin and he set me and Jim up on a date for Labor Day, September 1967. There was something from the very beginning that made me know Jim was special to me, but we did have a stormy courtship with a breakup mostly due to separation. I left college a year after meeting Jim and went back home to Florida where I eventually spent two years in X-ray school. Jim went off to Viet Nam and then back to Kansas City where he lived and worked. Long distance relationships are not easy! We finally married in April 1971. I would do it all over again in a heart beat. The result of our marriage was the daughter we made together - out of our love for one another - Mary Ellen. She is another story, but I cannot hesitate to say, she has brought us both nothing but joy and love!

Coincidence #1: knew of each other since children

Coincidence #2: my sister went to school with Jim

While in college, I sang in a group called "The Cellar Singers". Yes, we practiced in the cellar! It was a group of 8 girls and one of them was Mary Lou Reed. Yes, the same Mary Lou that is now Jim's wife. They met a few years after our divorce while working together in Kansas City.

Coincidence #3: Jim meets a college friend of mine and marries her. How could I dislike my ex-husbands new wife? She had once been my friend! That made it real easy.

In the last few years, Jim has developed an Internet friendship with a woman in Arkansas, Deb. She has a sister, Linda, living in Texas that she recently visited. While there, Linda told Deb she had found a blog that she was enjoying and wanted to show it to Deb. I don't know how, but Deb figured out this was written by her friend's ex-wife, ME! Deb tells Jim about it and they are all looking at it and I haven't even told anyone yet!

Coincidence#4: Jim meets Deb, Deb visits Linda, Linda discovers my blog, Linda tells Deb, Deb tells Jim, Jim tells Mary Ellen, Mary Ellen tells me, and I am writing about it now!

Well, I just have a few things to say.

What a small world!

Just how many degrees of separation does it take for this to happen?

Glad to meet you Deb and Linda. Please leave me a comment sometime. You must both be very special, beautiful and smart girls!! to have found me!! We should now be friends, too!

Here is a TV quote on friendship I like:

I knew I’d made a friend. The bonds we form with other people, can handle any setback
Genuine friendship will survive any dispute or competition.
And true partnership provides strength in times of trouble and confusion.

Kyle XY 8/8/06

Another TV quote, that for me, sums it all up:

You don’t have to Love somebody forever to be happy you loved them at all.

“Estelle” on Middle Ages 9/24/92

And finally, a quote - not from TV:
You never know what your going to get in this life, so don't miss one thing!

Goodnight