April 2005

Driving down the freeway today I looked over to the individual driving the Geo Prism to my right and thought, “where the hell is she going?” Keeping my eyes on the road (don’t worry, Mom) I looked ahead. As I stared out the windshield I surveryed the cars whizzing past me. (but not even close to speed of the kid from yesterday). As I stared at the plethora of cars and people passing me there was only one thought that came to my head. THERE ARE SO MANY OF US!

And we are all so much more connected than we realize.

Why? One word: Google.

Google has made the six degrees of seperation almost plummet down to one degree. Through Google we are connected as one.

Speaking of six degrees, at the Sundance Film Festival this past January I had a run in with Kevin Bacon. I was standing there at the hotel valet waiting for the shuttle to take me to town at a very early hour. As I stood there shivering in the Park City wind, out of nowhere Kevin Bacon appeared. Right next to me. There he was. Just KB and I.

“Hello, Kevin….How’s your band the Bacon Brothers doing?” Nicely played! Smooth one, Lis!

Yeah, that would have been solid if that is what I said.

Instead the only thing running through my mind was “Six Degrees…Six Degrees….Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon.”

There I was, the first degree – at that moment in time, I was it. It felt like I had entered into this euphoric state of SDOKB and I couldn’t stop thinking about it. As I stood there I thought about all those kids on the east coast college campuses who were just rolling out of bed, meandering into the dining halls to have three bowls of Captain Crunch too many and about to begin the morning game of SDOKB. There they were racking their brains to get the closest degree…and I was it. The only person at that point in his life that was the closest to him. Not gonna lie: It was a moment for me.

But did I say anything to KB? No. Tongue tied.

I still had that six degrees bug in my mind. Yes, we smiled at one another. There was that moment of “we both get it” because he looked like he had been out all night long and so did I. (Which I was.) It was just too early to talk. At least that was my excuse.

More info on the SDOKB game: http://www.louisville.com/loumag/mar/bacon.htm

Sidenote: I recently saw the ending of Footloose…if you haven’t seen that in awhile or God forbid you have never seen the movie at all: Rent it. If you have only a 15 minute window fast forward to the end. It will change your life.

Now go Google away.

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If you ever see this individual on the roads of San Diego….PULL OVER.

Yes, he looks like a normal guy…a normal twenty-something driver with a hat…but he is not. I know nothing about him except for one thing: He cannot drive. He passed me on the street today, driving at speeds I don’t even feel comfortable talking about, with his phone in between his ear and shoulder. Until today I thought my brother Brian deserved the trophy for biggest rampager of the year….I guess I was wrong.

It’s pretty simple…if you see this car…get off the road.

Have a safe week.

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Go out and give those high fives…if it’s awkward and not reciprocated – don’t fret, there are 6,379,157,360 other people to go after…well 6,379,157,359, unless you want to high five yourself.

Wynn, Conor, and Sam this holiday is really a work of art. Great job.

www.nationalhighfiveday.com

I’ve already given 3 high fives today…and 4 virtual ones…and it’s not even past 7am yet! Bring it on! Today’s gonna be great.

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To most people there is a difference between Sammy Sosa and Hailu Negussie….

To others…there is not.

Yes, one is from the Dominican Republic and one is from Ethiopia but that is not what I am talking about. I am also aware that one of them won the 2005 Boston Marathon with a time of 2 hours 25 minutes and 13 seconds… and one of them did not…but that is also not what I am talking about. My point is that I think that everyone can concur that between the two men, there are many many differences…well….”everyone” except Nicole Clark.

The other night Nicole and I are playing softball and we are out in center field and left field respectively.

Nicole turns to me and yells: “Hey, Gina…Did you know that the average Major League Outfielder runs on average about 100,000 miles a year during the season just by running for fly balls and to and from the dugout?”

Me(aka: Gina to Nicole): “Really?”

Silence fills the outfield. 100,000 miles? I ponder that thought as I watch the batter drive a line drive to second. Hold on ….What? Did she say 100,000 MILES?!?! I kick the grass and shake my head in utter confusion. That stat did not make sense.

Me: “Um, Nicole…that sounds a bit high. Are you sure it’s 100,000?”

Nicole: (doing some quick math and looking up at the dark sky) “You know…now that I think about it…it was more like 100 miles a year.”

I break out into hysterics. 100 miles vs 100,000 BIG DIFFERENCE! A fly ball is popped into center field and I am on the ground laughing as I watch Nicole make a sweet catch. Nicole throws it into the rover and looks over at me to see me on the grass.

I yell to Nicole:”100,000 miles!?!?! Like almost 1000 miles a game!!!”

Nicole: “SHUT UP, GINA!!!!”

Nicole runs over and charges me. I quickly bolt away.

Me: “100,000!!! HAHAHAHA!”

Nicole (in a laughter fit as well) “I didn’t realize what I said! SHUT UP!!!”

Me: “Marathoners couldn’t run that much!”

Nicole and I cannot control ourselves as the inning continues. Laughter from the outfield fills the infield and nobody knows what is going on. I just personally couldn’t get out of my mind the thought of Hailu Negussie running around the outfield non-stop all year and still not hitting that 100,000 mile mark.

If you really think about it and do the legit math – one would find that with 162 regular season games…give or take a few playoff games…an outfielder would have to run about 600-700 miles a game to get to that level.

Good luck with that, Sammy.

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