Small, Small World

Peteetneet School in Payson, Utah

Last week I entertained a group of unaccompanied military personnel, which included a guy who lived in Payson, Utah. Not only did he live in Payson, but he and his family were involved in community theater there. When I told him that I had raised my four kids in Payson, and had worked in the community theater group, we began comparing names -- only to find that we know a lot of the same folks. Guess where he lived there? In the "scary" big blue house across the street from (north of) Peteetneet School. Of course, I knew exactly which house he was referring to. And when I told him which house had been mine, he knew which one it was, as well. Small, small world. 

Polly Klass (1983-1993)

More "Small, Small World":
A few weeks ago, I read John Walsh's book on the history of his television program, "America's Most Wanted." He included the story of how AMW helped to find the killer of Polly Klaas in 1993. She was abducted from a sleepover in her own home in Petaluma, California.

One of my new friends here in Osan is a psychologist from Petaluma, California. She and I went to dinner the other night and I asked her about her involvement in this case. Polly was a classmate of my friend's children, and she herself was the psychologist who worked with the two girls who witnessed the kidnapping. She told me details about the story that helped me to understand that it wasn't a random event. But I also came to understand how such an event can damage and alter the lives of an entire community. My friend picked up her kids and moved out of Petaluma after it was over.

The world is a small place. Here I am in Korea, sharing what I have read about a murder, only to find that my friend and her kids are survivors of that ordeal. Wow. I feel really humble to know her, and to know that she helped the other families in some small measure.