It's a small world after all

Six degrees of separation, small world, serendipity, whatever you want to attribute it to, random strange connections are around us all the time. Every now and then, it stands up and smacks you right upside the head. Today was that day for me. When Hollie and I started dating she talked about her good friend Tripp who was a deployed Blackhawk pilot. They used to be running partners. While he was deployed, we had dinner with Tripp's wife Whitney and their daughter Caitlin. It was nice to meet more of Hollie's friends. Once Tripp got back form the sandbox, we hung out a few times and he and I get along pretty damn well (likely dur to military backgrounds and daddy's medicine- Crown and Coke.) So when the opportunity to tailgate with them presented itself, we jumped at the chance. During one of these tailgates it came up that Whitney had lived in Fairbanks during High School. She and Hollie sat and talked about everything Alaska. Some great tips came out of it, like don't put your key in your mouth while you take your gloves off at 40 below zero. Good advice.
Fairbanks is close to Delta Junction but not close enough that I really thought I'd meet someone that knew Whitney here, Fairbanks is still a good size city and 100 miles away. But, that's exactly what happened today.
I've been working on a truck loan with a local bank, so around lunch today I ran in to sign some paperwork today. While I was talking to my loan officer Allison, I asked how she ended up in Delta. Her husband is military and they met in Fairbanks where she went to High School. I politely asked what year she graduated and she said 2000, which is right around when Whitney graduated. I asked how many high schools there were in Fairbanks. maybe 3 or so. I went out on a limb and asked if she might now a Whitney but I couldn't remember Whitney's maiden name. She said a few names and one sounded kind of right, so I facebooked a picture of Whit on Tripp's page, and sure enough, Allison went to school with Whitney. 4000 miles away and we know the same person, 1 degree of separation, small world, indeed.