I mentioned yesterday that there was one more story I wanted to tell from my signing at The Happy Bookseller in Columbia, SC. Here it is: There was a line with people waiting to have their book signed (a line I tell you, what a cool thing! And, by the way, not one of them was related to me. Although some of them were, indeed, close family friends.), and the next woman had a look of familiarity on her face. It was a look that seemed to say she knew me, and as soon as I saw her, I thought, “I think I know her.” But, honestly, I knew deep down that I had never seen before in my life. “Rosie,” she says when she gets to me, “You interviewed me for the book.” But here’s the thing. I did not interview anyone who lived in Columbia, South Carolina for the book. I tilted my head, trying to understand and she told me her name. And low and behold, I did interview her—an interview I so enjoyed and concretely remember—but she lives in upstate New York! Well, as it turns out, her daughter lives in Columbia and she was in town for the visit. “How did you hear about the reading,” I asked, thinking maybe she had seen it on the blog and decided to come by so that we could meet. Nope. She had no idea that I was signing at this bookstore (which is not even in the downtown area). She had just stopped by the bookstore to get more reading material for her vacation and noticed that there was an author signing going on. Curious, she wandered over to the table to see if it was a book she had heard of and saw a cover and title she recognized. Can you believe that she was there? It just blew my mind! And one more small world anecdote before I go. My mom grew up just above a beach that I love in Puerto Rico. I covet that little beach and the last time I was in Puerto Rico, I missed seeing it because I was sick and in the hospital the days that everyone went to it. So it’s been a long time. Well, my parents flew out to Puerto Rico yesterday for one of my dad’s high school reunions and just as I received a phone call from them saying that they were in Quebradillas, at the site of my favorite beach, an e-mail dinged on my computer screen. It was the little survey from a future M’ija to Meet and darn if her photo was not taken on that beach in Quebradillas. Now, for those of you who don’t know, Quebradillas is a small town and the beach is a small beach. I e-mailed her back quickly to see if I was really seeing my little beach in her picture and, sure enough, I was. Can you believe it? Have you had a small world moment lately?
