Family & Relationships It's a Small World

[Glenno23]

We all know its a small world and you can bump into many a people you haven't seen for years, and i have (what i think) is a pretty good story:

A few years back i was in my first week of my new job in retail after leaving my previous job of 7 years. I was training at a store in the northern suburbs of WA and was due to get married around 8 months after that.

So my fiance says she'll meet me at work on the Thursday night and we'll have dinner and do some shopping and start looking at wedding rings and the such. So off we go and start looking around after dinner. I had to run back to the store quick to drop something off and she says she'll pop into a jewellry store and to meet her back there.

I get back and she's chatting away with the sales assistant, as i walk over she introduces me "Glenn, this is my friend Sarika, i went to TAFE with her 4 years ago" and they keep yapping and catching up.

Sarika then turns to me and says i look familiar, i think nothing of it, until she asks me if i'm from Adelaide and i say yes. She then asks me if i used to work for a particular (she named the store and brand) Pizza store back in the year 2000. Yep i sure did. Then it dawns on me. I had started work at the Pizza store when it first opened in 2000 as a delivery driver in year 12 and she had started as a pizza maker at the same time.

She then moved to WA in 2001 and ends up going to TAFE with my future wife in 2002. I move across in 2003 and meet said wife in 2004 through the Pizza business, she and my wife then run into each other whilst shopping for a wedding ring in 2007. Could not believe the connection and how it happened

Anyone else have some good stories?

 

[Mooster7]

Did you all go out for pizza afterward?

When I was living in Texas I befriended an old guy named Glen who also happened to be from Kansas City. I lamented that the Texans didn't know how to barbeque (they think they can but they're wrong) and that there was no good BBQ to be had for a KC ex-pat. Glen showed me an incredible way to grill up a BBQ burger. Best burger in the world. I continued to make them according to his recipe & methods even to this day. Eventually Glen died and I honor his memory every time I light a grill. Awesome guy he was.

So then, up in the future from there and now back safely in Kansas City, I was forced into going to one of those stupid family out-gathering things with a girlfriend. I insisted that I would do the burgers along with any and all grilling. At the gathering whilst working the grill, several people said that my burgers couldn't possibly be better than the Uncle Glen burger recipe they typically used (catching on?) After I heard this several times I said, "Mine are Glen burgers too, but they are Glen Stanford burgers." Yes, that was their Uncle Glen, one and the same.

I eventually ditched that girlfriend, but I got this story out of it.

Peace,

 

[raskolnikov]

At the start of last year I started a new teaching job at a school in South Gippsland. One of the teachers there turned out to be one of the teachers I actually had when I was at school in the Blue Mountains in New South Wales.

 

[Poseidon]

Did you all go out for pizza afterward?

When I was living in Texas I befriended an old guy named Glen who also happened to be from Kansas City. I lamented that the Texans didn't know how to barbeque (they think they can but they're wrong) and that there was no good BBQ to be had for a KC ex-pat. Glen showed me an incredible way to grill up a BBQ burger. Best burger in the world. I continued to make them according to his recipe & methods even to this day. Eventually Glen died and I honor his memory every time I light a grill. Awesome guy he was.

So then, up in the future from there and now back safely in Kansas City, I was forced into going to one of those stupid family out-gathering things with a girlfriend. I insisted that I would do the burgers along with any and all grilling. At the gathering whilst working the grill, several people said that my burgers couldn't possibly be better than the Uncle Glen burger recipe they typically used (catching on?) After I heard this several times I said, "Mine are Glen burgers too, but they are Glen Stanford burgers." Yes, that was their Uncle Glen, one and the same.

I eventually ditched that girlfriend, but I got this story out of it.

Peace,

Good story. Bonus points if you share the burger making secrets.

 

[Gough]

I was on the platform at Bulawayo railway station in 94, waiting for the train to Vic. Falls and bumped into a guy who I played rugby with at school.

Small world indeed.

 

[SugarShane]

Last October we went to the Gold Coast for a week. While we were waiting for the bus to come home from Movieworld a guy I play cricket with back here sidled up to wait for the very same bus. That kind of blew my mind.

 

[Caesar]

A few weeks after we started going out my girlfriend and I found out we were both going to be members of the same wedding party for two different friends of ours who got married, who met overseas and completely independently.

 

[Shell]

A staff member at my school (started here in 2007), bought our holiday house in Portarlington off my dad all the way back in 1989, and he still owns it.

Could have struck my down with a feather when we both realised that.. + would love to go back there one day have a look round.

 

[SugarShane]

Last October we went to the Gold Coast for a week. While we were waiting for the bus to come home from Movieworld a guy I play cricket with back here sidled up to wait for the very same bus. That kind of blew my mind.

Quoting yourself ftw. I forgot to mention that we also ran into each other a couple days later at Dracula's aswell. Funny to think out of all the holiday destinations in the world, we picked the same place for the same time, and then did 2 of the same things on the same days, and in one case even had the same bus.

 

[The Goon]

Met a bloke when backpacking around Europe and we became very good mates. It was only after 5 years or so that we found out our fathers both knew each other quite well.

 

[Brad Goodman]

In 1993 we were on a plane to the Gold Coast with the Geelong team who were going on their end-of-season trip. Dad sat next to Tim McGrath and they had a decent chat. A few days later we ended up bumping into him again at Movieworld, lining up for the Batman ride of all things.

 

[lewigie]

I once met my old post man while in Switzerland.

 

[Glenno23]

I also have another

My wife and i were buying a new house after our 3 x 2 was getting a bit small for us and our 8 month old son (and planning for a second kid) so we went out looking for a 4 x 2. Pretty much the first one we saw was perfect, even had an activity room in between the kids rooms

Put the offer in. Agent calls us and says the other couple have accepted. When the agent told the sellers our names, they instantly recognised us.

The sellers used to work for me at the Pizza franchise (i was out of the business for a few years by then) back when i was an Area manager.

Hadn't seen them for a few years. They were selling because she cheated on him though and they called off the wedding

 

[Football God]

Some good stories keep them coming, went to wet 'n' wild in Qld with my family and as i sit down i look around my shoulder and i see one of my footy teamates with his family. major Wtf.

 

[Lemma]

Saw a mate from Melbourne in NYC (unintentionally). I thought it was amazing, but compared to the other stories, pretty average.

 

[Gabbie]

When I lived in North London in my younger days I worked in the local pub. One of the day time regulars was an old codger who happened to live in my street. He used to pop in and have a few halves and chat away to me. He told me that one of his daughters lived in Sydney for years blah blah blah.

After a few months two Aussies girls happened to come into the pub after their big Europe trip looking for part time jobs at the pub. After working with them for a week or two we became pals and would swap "what do you miss about home" stories e.g. Lamingtons and our love life stories. One of the girls would talk about her b'friend back in Sydney, only by his first name mind you. Annnnywaaaaaay, I mentioned one day that I had lived in Sydney about 4 years before that, "where" they asked, Harbord says me, and one of them says "so and so lived there". Well so and so had a not common first name and I say "what, so and so I used to share a house with he and some other guy " and Yes, same guy she was talking about. Then her friends says, "well you'd know my b'friend, he's a mate of his" she said his name and I nearly fell over "I know him, was always over our place". Then the iciing on the cake was she mentioned that the old codger across the road from me was her b'friend's GRANDFATHER. Welll, he was quite chuffed the next time he popped in for a frothie and I mentioned I know his g'son in Sydney.

 

[kfc1]

A few years ago I was travelling around the world with a couple of mates from school. We were living out of a motorhome in Europe and set up for a few nights on this beach in a pretty lonely part of northern Spain. Anyway, there was another motorhome in the same parking area so we went over to say hello and whatnot, turned out one of the 3 blokes in there was an ex soccer teammate of mine who i hadn't seen for 5 years.

 

[neng]

I just got back from prac teaching in the country, where one day an older teacher from a neighbouring town (where my Dad grew up) came to share some of her insights to some of our teachers. It was said in the staff room that she had been teaching for 33 years or something, but I didn't think anything of it. I got into a conversation with her speaking about my schooling and why I wanted to be a teacher etc, then I brought up that my grandparents are from her town originally. She asked what their names were, I told her, she just smiled and said,
"Yep, I know them, how are they? Are they still in Albany?"
I couldn't believe it. Anyway she asks whose child I am, to which I find out that she taught my Dad about 30 years ago. Small world.

 

[The_Todd07]

I went to Egypt earlier this year and our tour guide set up a visit to a Nubian village while we were in Aswan. For this visit we had a local guy show us around.
2 weeks later when we were in Budapest, Hungary a couple of guys from the group bumped into him and his family on a holiday of their own

 

[angus BEEF]

School friend and I were in the same building in Cairns, at the same time, but didn't find out until we were back at school, after we came back from the holidays.

 

[Dazb86]

I called 281 330 8004 and Mike Jones answered.

Who?

Mike Jones.

 

[FrankGrimes]

In 1993 we were on a plane to the Gold Coast with the Geelong team who were going on their end-of-season trip. Dad sat next to Tim McGrath and they had a decent chat. A few days later we ended up bumping into him again at Movieworld, lining up for the Batman ride of all things.

My God, you where both in the same city at a popular tourist attraction? and you saw each other, the odds must be 1,000,000/1....

 

[tuckylives]

I recently returned from a four month overseas holiday. I was walking through the Vatican City, which as you can imagine was absolutely packed. I glanced over through the crowd and my eyes were drawn to a guy who looked very familiar. I walked up closer to him, recognised him as a guy who was a year below me at school in a country town, tapped him on the shoulder and had a good chat and a laugh.

In the months before I left to go overseas, I quite frequently worked out with his old man at the gym and told him all about my plans for overseas...not once did he mention his own son would be overseas around the same time and visiting similar destinations.

 

[tuckylives]

I just remembered another not-so-freaky 'small world' experience, but worthwhile nonetheless.

After finishing year 12, myself and my group of mates were sitting in the Virgin Blue flight lounge at Melbourne Airport waiting to board our flight to the Gold Coast for Schoolies. As we were waiting, I noticed a guy sitting across from us who looked quite familiar. We tried to work out who it was, but couldn't quite put our fingers on it. Shortly after, we were boarding the plane from the tarmac and it finally struck us; it was Ditch Davey who played Evan Jones on Blue Heelers.

It turned out that our seats were right next to him on the plane. As we sat down, he said g'day to us and struck up some small talk. Being huge Blue Heelers fans and not wanting to be too intrusive, we acted like we didn't know him and asked him what he was heading to the Gold Coast for, seeing as he quickly guessed we were heading up for Schoolies. He said he was going up for work and to visit his son. When we arrived at Coolangatta, he wished us all the best and said cheerio.

Two days later we were walking down Cavill Ave and sure enough spotted him having a coffee and reading the newspaper at a cafe.

A week or so later we were at Wet 'N' Wild and in line for one of the more popular rides. We had been waiting about 20 minutes before we noticed a guy pushing back through the queue down the stairs with a crying child. Turns out it was Ditch again with his six-year-old son who obviously wasn't keen on that particular ride.

Then, a few days before we flew back to Melbourne, we were out for dinner at a bar/pub and who should walk in shortly after we arrived...Ditch and a group of about five or six mates.



*in before 'we were stalking Ditch Davey'.

 

[HolyRioli]

Mate at school (same year) lives (lived, works up on the mines as an engineer now) 3 doors down. Our mothers were at high school together in Darwin, 30 years previously.

Went to Europe with a friend. The Bartender of our local in Venice was a fellow uni-student with my friend, doing the whole work-travel thing.