It's a Small World

My social life in Chicago during the late 80's and early 90's was robust. I was, as they say, a man about town with a vast entourage of friends and acquaintances. During our travels, after moving to Atlanta, Tim and I would bump into random folks from my former Chicago days.

During our early return visits to Chicago, I would often hold court in Sidetrack, catching up with members of my entourage. Then it happened in San Francisco. Tim and I wandered into one of those "classy" Castro adult toy stores and were greeted with "Oh my God! Oh my God! Oh my God! Tony, what the hell are you doing in San Francisco, and in my porn store?" A welcome so robust, all of the patrons turned to see if the latest porn celebrity had just walked through door.

Then again, during our recent trip to Costa Rica. We wandered into Cafe Mundo for dinner. I was the last of our group to enter the dinning room. As the host turned, he looked at me and his jaw dropped and blurted, "Oh my God!, Tony, is that you?". My dinning companions were riveted. "Why, yes", I replied, attempting to quickly place the voice, face and finally summon his name. He couldn't contain his excitement, "It's Ray, we dated for a bit in Chicago." My neurons made the connection; I introduced him to my companions and proceeded to chat away, drawing out the details of his life in last 15 years.

"It's a small world" - those magical lyrics truly resonate for me and I wonder where I will see another member of my entourage?