What's in a Name?

I spent a big chunk of Tuesday afternoon and Wednesday morning talking to myself. OK, not really.

Many years ago, I searched for my name on Facebook and found a profile of a man in New Zealand who spelt his name exactly the same as I did, which happens to be an uncommon spelling. In those days, FB had some of your likes on your front profile page and I saw we'd read the same book. I messaged him to say so, he friended me and we've confused people ever since by wishing each other happy birthday and commenting on each other's posts.

Tuesday, during an American road trip, he (or I) and his lovely wife (definitely him) dropped by the church and we tested the structural bonds of the universe by shaking hands. When it didn't blow up, we had a great chat. We both like bluegrass as well as a number of other things -- religion, antipathy for politicians and a belief that much of the time, the governments of both of our nations were far too invested in things they need not be.

We sat at a table in a local restaurant for about two hours Wednesday morning (tipped accordingly) chatting before they were to be off and traveling again. I got to hear how he and his wife met. how beef-raising is done in New Zealand, what it's like in a country where 5.1 million people spread out over 104,000 miles and 2 million of them live in three cities, and so on.

Thus one of the original (and long lost) principles of the internet was fulfilled, as it brought people from distant lands together and showed we are more alike than we thought.

Of course, he and I had a head start.