Six Degrees Of Interconnectedness
It's A SMALL World!
When I was a little kid, I was fascinated—truly fascinated—by how many of the people I knew…also knew each other.
Friends of friends. Cousins who went to school with so-and-so. A neighbor somehow related to someone famous.
It felt like an invisible web was quietly weaving us all together.
And I wasn’t the only one intrigued by it.
My grandmother—wise, warm, and always game for any excuse to write—completely encouraged my curiosity about how we’re all connected. In fact, she fed it.
Long before I could read or write, she’d sit down with me once a week and help me craft fan letters to my favorite actors, filmmakers, musicians, and writers. Technically, she wrote them—but they were my words, my excitement, and my questions.
My grandmother was a nurse by trade but always said she’d secretly wanted to be a secretary.
And believe it or not, most weeks… we got letters back. Real ones. In envelopes. With stamps. And signatures. Sometimes even signed photos.
Some of the people I most admired actually took the time to respond to me—a wide-eyed kid growing up in Dallas, Texas. When my grandmother arrived with a stack of mail, and one of the envelopes had my name on it? From someone I’d only seen on TV, in a movie, or heard on the radio?
That was pure magic.
I wish I still had those letters. I wish I could remember exactly who I was into back then, who replied, and what they said. What would that snapshot say about that version of me—the kid who believed, with his whole heart, that everyone in the world was just a stamp away?
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This week, I’ve had a handful of unexpected “six degrees of separation” moments—with people both known and unknown.
On Sunday, a childhood friend reached out to ask if I knew how to contact one of her favorite actresses. I remembered another friend had recently worked with her. A direct connection might be a stretch—but it's a work-in-progress.
Today, I got an email from someone I met over 20 years ago…who hadn’t realized I was also writing on Substack. Not everyone knows about “Clint” yet. Hopefully, he and I will reconnect soon.
And later this afternoon, I’m seeing an old friend I used to attend classical music concerts with. We lost touch a few years ago, but I’m so excited to be catching up. The fact that she’s related to one of my favorite TV journalists? Just icing on the cake.
Looking back, I realize how powerful those early experiences with my grandmother truly were. They taught me that people are interconnected in ways we can’t always see—and that we all have more friends and influence than we’ll ever fully grasp.
With a little kindness, patience, and respect, those interconnections can make our lives a lot bigger and more interesting.
It really is a small world after all….
Clint 🌈✌️
FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION
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ON THIS DAY = APRIL 10
BIRTHDAYS
1644 = John Wilmot = 2nd Earl of Rochester = English poet and courtier 🌈
1880 = Frances Perkins = American workers-rights advocate 🌈
1915 = Harry Morgan = American actor and director
1921 = Sheb Wooley = American singer-songwriter and actor
1929 = Max von Sydow = Swedish-French actor
1930 = Dolores Huerta = American activist and United Farm Workers co-founder
1932 = Omar Sharif = Egyptian actor and screenwriter
1936 = John Madden = American football player, coach, and sportscaster
1946 = David Angell = American screenwriter and producer
1947 = Bunny Wailer = Jamaican singer-songwriter
1948 = Tom Spencer = British politician 🌈
1954 = Anne Lamott = American author and educator
1954 = Peter MacNicol = American actor
1959 = Babyface = American singer-songwriter and producer
1959 = Brian Setzer = American singer-songwriter and bandleader
1968 = Orlando Jones = American actor, producer, and screenwriter
1970 = Kenny Lattimore = American singer-songwriter
1975 = David Harbour = American actor
1980 = Bryce Soderberg = American singer-songwriter
1980 = Charlie Hunnam = English actor
1980 = Gro Hammerseng-Edin = Norwegian handball player 🌈
1981 = Michael Pitt = American actor = model and musician
1982 = Chyler Leigh = American actor, singer, and model 🌈
1984 = Mandy Moore = American singer-songwriter and actor
1988 = Haley Joel Osment = American actor
1992 = Daisy Ridley = English actor
EVENTS
1866 = The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) is founded in NYC by Henry Bergh.
1925 = The Great Gatsby is published by Scribner's.
1939 = Alcoholics Anonymous, A.A.'s "Big Book", is first published.
1953 = House of Wax, the first color 3D feature film, premieres in NYC.
1955 = East Of Eden is released in theaters.
1957 = 12 Angry Men is released in theaters.
HOLIDAYS + OBSERVANCES
PORTRAIT + QUOTES OF THE DAY
“The more I had to act like a saint, the more I felt like being a sinner.”
Max von Sydow
“There are those who want to believe but can't, and there are those who believe as children and it's no problem for them at all.”
Max von Sydow
NEW + FEATURED
Always A Pleasure #1 (NSFW)
Lit From Inside #2 (NSFW)
Summertime Daydreams #2 (NSFW)
What a wonderful grandmother you had.
As a guy interested in metaphysics and spirituality, I believe that we are all interconnected intimately, from the infinity and eternity of the beginning of our universe to the infinity and eternity of its future, Indeed, in my view, we form the Oneness of Being - a single spiritual identity, call it Godness if you will or not as the case may be. I am you and your are me, together, in the Eternal Now, with no distinction between past, present and future - all is Now,
Interesting to discover that I would turn eleven about two weeks after East of Eden was released and yet still see some of the images from that film in mind's eye more clearly than any of the films I've streamed on Netflix.
Also, thanks to you, I remember standing, apparently at about the same age, in front of the theater marquee in my central L.A. CA neighborhood and thinking I'd rather not bother with a courtroom drama about angry men and to this day have never sat through Twelve Angry Men.
Probably not the wisest decision I ever made and also interesting to notice how relentlessly I sometimes stick with decisions, whether demonstrably right or wrong, made as mere a child.
Thanks for a nice moment of reflection Clint, hope your day is fine . . .