It's a Small World After All

Wednesday evening there was a quiz show featuring teams from the audience answering trivia questions about Prairie Home Companion. One of the team members was introduced, and I started in my seat. After the show I approached the woman and introduced myself, and asked, since her name was Glysteen and she was from the Seattle area, whether she knew Dirk Glysteen. I explained that he and I overlapped at Grinnell. "Oh, yes, " she said, "and I'm Grinnell '69. Not only do I know Dirk, but he's my brother, and he's sitting in the last row of the theater. Rod (his brother, also at Grinnell the same time as I) is also here, along with their wives, kids and our mother." We had a nice little reunion.

I suppose it shouldn't be a surprise to find Grinnellians along on a Prairie Home Companion cruise.

It's a few days later and we are docked in Oslo. I took a harbor ferry over to Bygsoyn where there is a cluster of museums, including a folk life museum, a Viking ship museum and others. The ferry was crowded with many tourists and I squeezed myself into a spot along the starboard rail for the 10 minute trip across the harbor. As we motored away from the pier we passed the Veendam and some Americans in front of me were chatting about the cruise ships. I mentioned that I was travelling on this one. We struck up a conversation about travelling in Norway. One thing led to another, and I asked where they were from. One of the women spoke up for the group saying she was from Washington and her daughter and family who were alongside her were from California. As travellers do, we traded our vitals. I work in affordable housing, I said, and she said, "I chaired the new Mayor's task force on affordable housing this spring." A few more comments and I said, "You're Alice Rivlin." Yes, she said, I am. Her grandson groaned, as teenagers are wont to do when their older relatives are recognized.