It’s A Small World After All

(My last name is rare for my home area, and almost non-existent outside of it, due to going through at least five different spellings since my ancestors arrived through Ellis Island. For the sake of argument, I’ll just say it’s Krueger. I’ve arrived in Dublin for the first time ever and am checking into my hostel. I show the guy manning the desk my passport to verify my reservation. He checks me in, and then stares hard at my passport.)

Guy: *in a Midwest accent* “[My Name] Krueger? Are you related to [Female Name] Krueger, from [My Town], Wisconsin?”

Me: “Yeah… that’s my older sister.”

Guy: *laughing* “I dated her for a couple of months when I was living in [Town five miles away from my town] back in middle school.”

(My family and I have always joked that my very social sister has contacts all over the world, but this is getting ridiculous!)