with me in Calgary. Someone else knew a colleague
in Calgary, and so it went all night.
I always wear a Canada pin or T-shirt when
travelling overseas. In a Paris washroom in 1991,
I met a woman from Prince Albert who worked with
a friend of mine from U. of S. days. She saw my
Canada pin and the conversation began, “Where
are you from?”
Interestingly enough, twenty-four years later, this
time in Amsterdam, I met people who knew that
same university friend from Prince Albert! We were
staying at a B&B and a couple from Canada moved
upstairs on our last day. We met them coming down
the stairs and of course exchanged location questions.
Turns out the woman not only knew my PA
friend but had also worked in Winnipeg
with someone I knew from Kamsack.
One day while I was volunteering
at the Calgary airport, I stopped
for lunch beside an older man, a
young woman, and a baby. When
they said they were flying back
to Saskatoon, I said I’d gone to
university there. They asked me
where I was from and when I said
“Kamsack,” his excitement rose. He
said, “Do you know Togo?” He was from
a family that I knew and was coming from a
funeral for a man I remembered from my childhood.
A small world experience at the Calgary Airport
happened when Calgary hosted the Juno Awards
a few years ago. I was waiting with Burton
Cummings while his wife filled out forms. We
talked about Winnipeg, and I mentioned my
maiden name because it’s well known there. Turns
out that his piano lessons were a few doors down
from my cousin. They used to play together when
younger. That’s two degrees of separation from
Burton Cummings!
A more global two-to-three-degree separation at
the airport, was when I met a young man who had
disembarked from KLM and needed help. I asked
him where he lived in Holland. He mentioned
Nunspeet (pop. 27,000), which excited me because
I knew someone there. Now, you may say that
age-old adage “Do you happen to know…?” doesn’t
work more globally. But it did this time! I told him
my friend’s name and he said, “She’s my mother’s
best friend.” He pulled out his phone and called his
mother in Holland!
On a train in Spain one summer, two couples,
who were strangers, sat across from each other. One
man warned the other not to put his suitcase on the
top shelf. The train did a quick stop and the
suitcase fell. The four started talking and
soon discovered that one couple was
from Winnipeg and the other was
from …Kamsack! The Winnipeg
couple included my first cousin;
the Kamsack duo were friends
of my brothers. In Europe,
on a fast train, coincidentally
sitting together, four people,
connected to the same people from
Saskatchewan — my brothers.
Try out my theory the next time you
travel. Always wear Canadian insignia. If
you are from Saskatchewan, Roughrider shirts or
hats are a great conversation starter! In Holland,
just seeing our maple leaf means a hug from locals
in thanks for Canadian liberators during the Second
World War.
Where are YOU from? I wonder, who do WE know
in common? ●
Janet Wees obviously loves to travel and even while
not travelling volunteers as a White Hatter at YYC.
Among various extracurricular activities, Janet
taught students with special needs, developing a
program for Gifted/LD kids.
news&views AUTUMN 2019 | 69