My mind is always making random connections.
It may have been triggered by my childhood immersion in a BBC television show called Connections:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Connections_(British_TV_series)
And here’s a connection, the presenter/narrator of that series James Burke, shares a common last name with my Nana, Bridie Burke.
But I enjoy the randomness of connections.
For example, it is true that there is really just 6 Degrees of Separation between all of us. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Six_degrees_of_separation.
And it is equally true that the actor, Kevin Bacon, is the center of the universe. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Six_Degrees_of_Kevin_Bacon
Now let me demonstrate how this six-degrees thing works.
When my oldest son, Luke, was a child, one of the many things he dabbled in was acting. He had an agent and studied with his younger siblings at the Lee Strasberg Theatre & Film Institute in Manhattan: https://strasberg.edu/yas/
One of the acting related things Luke and I did together back in the early 90s, was go see the actor, Kevin Bacon, give an intimate talk about acting at The Learning Annex in Manhattan. Kevin’s wife, Kyra Sedgewick, was there. After the talk Kevin and Kyra hung around the front of the room to greet the attendees, and Luke got to say hello. Very interesting couple and both talented and gracious actors.
During one of the auditions Luke went for at around that time was for a breakfast cereal. While Luke was waiting to go in, Danny Tamberelli, who played the younger ginger brother Little Pete Wrigley, in the Nickelodian series The Adventurers of Pete & Pete, arrived to audition for the same commercial. Danny seemed to be a nice enough kid to my son while Luke was waiting outside the audition room with him. Needless to say, fame won out.
But it turned out okay. Luke gave up his pursuit of acting and grew up to be this cool guy:
God bless all first responders.
Luke married an Aussie model,
Had a beautiful family,
Wrote a wonderful novel, called Lebanon Red, think Good Will Hunting meets Jason Bourne,
Moved to Oz and became this guy.
He’s now written the sequel to LR which is amazing (but I am not allowed to talk about it under threat of death. And I believe him).
And here is one of the few photos of the two McCaffrey authors together. Another connection.
So, having established Luke’s direct connection with Kevin Bacon and Pete & Pete, and his connection to me, I shall proceed.
When I was a teen, I was enrolled at Cardinal Spellman High School in the Bronx. Indeed, my time there provided me with a lot of the storyline for my fourth novel, Finding Jimmy Moran. Lawyers Note – FJM Is Completely Fictional.
Now, one of my classmates at CSHS, was a young BIC named Pete Flanagan. While I cannot be certain of this, and I shall fault my color vision deficiency for this qualification, I believe Pete F may have had a ginger tint to his otherwise blondish hair. We ran with different cliques, but knew each other well. If sworn under oath, Pete F could and would attest to the Wig incident (which is completely fictional – see Lawyer’s Note , above).
Once I got older, and marriage put me on the straight and narrow, I graduated Fordham University School of Law and went to work at a prestigious Wall Street Law Firm called Cahill, Gordon & Reindel.
While being courted by the firm during the Summer of 1983, I shared an office with other Summer Associates, Howard Cooper, John Lynch – definitely a Ginger – and a BIC named Pete Sheridan.
Pete S went to Bergen Catholic in New Jersey, where a cousin of my father’s worked as a manager on the football team Pete played for. He then went on to play football at Manhattan College, where a number of my relatives attended, and drank in the same Bronx bars, where a number of my relatives drank, including The Ginger, who Pete recalled from those Halcyon days.
Pete also had a close friend and client who also is a close friend of The Ginger and can attest to some of his shenanigans on NYC construction sites. But I digress.
Pete was a bright Celt and went on to Harvard Law School, which led him to that same office at CG&R in the summer of 1983.
Now fast forward 5 decades since my days at CSHS and 4 decades since my summer at CG&R.
You fine, five readers have an inkling on how I spent that time, and I can sum up that Pete F spent that time as a successful Wall Street trader and Pete S became a successful Assistant US Attorney, Federal Court Clerk and commercial litigator.
During that interim, I had no contact with Pete & Pete.
However, after the books started dropping the universe brought us all back together. Randomly.
Pete S recently bumped into the Ginger’s Wife in an on-line internet chat group about Bronx bars and after some connecting the dots, realized our family connection and got in touch.
We had a great laugh catching up, and have since stayed in regular touch, as Pete S is determined to save my bankrupt lapsed-catholic soul and prevent me from being burned at the stake during the next inquisition. I’ve so enjoyed the experience – and the soul challenge – that I made Pete S and his wonder dog Fergus, the Jack Russell terrier, central characters in WTLLM.
Pete had a minor set back recently, and when I demanded proof of life, this is what I received.
Glad to see Pete S is back in form and well on the road to recovery.
Pete F is on the CSHS Class of 74 Alumnae Committee, with Danny Cahillane, Terry Hughes and Marian Galdi. They ran into Mark Lenahan (yep, the central character in all 5 books) at the 49th Alumnae reception, and one thing led to another and Pete F and I ultimately connected on Face Book, where we now commune on a regular basis.
Pete F went right out and bought and devoured copies of The Claire Trilogy.
In response to such support, and to acknowledge our time as classmates at CSHS, I sent Pete F an inscribed copy of FJM.
Pete F has informed me that he has indeed enjoyed the read. Thanks Pete.
I also have since connected on FB with other Spellman Alums like Ken Hart and Paul Parzuchowski, hey guys.
Isn’t life random. And connected.
So, that brings me to the conclusion of my proof of the Six Degrees of Separation between The Adventures of Pete & Pete and the Adventures of Pete S & Pete F, but also the six degrees of separation between Kevin Bacon and Pete S and Pete F.
Well, my fine, five readers, Monday is again behind us.
Get out there and enjoy the randomness of life, and make as many connections with others as you can. It all leads back to Kevin Bacon.
Now I must get out there and cuddle some kitties and make my rounds.
But no matter what each of us may do, let us all make today a great one.
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